2019-07-03: SAGA Age of Magic, Goblins versus Gondor

Today, I introduced Emil to AoM; I had prepared two 5-points lists (Horde and Kingdoms), but without any fantasy elements (basically, it was like playing with 'historical' warbands).

I skipped the 2nd Ed. rule about having to end the movement of each model within S of the first moved model (I plan to go back and also play with the 1st Ed. rule that only models within a certain range of enemies add dice to the Combat Pool), and this eased Movement quite a lot.

Emil was 1st player, and we both advanced; I even used some extra SAGA Dice activations to move a bit further.

The lines closed in.

The Gondorians kept Manoeuvering closer...

...while my Goblins rested to get rid of some Fatigue.

The Gondorians converged on my center. We did not adhere rigidly to the rules on gaps between units.

There was blood. Much Blood. First, my Hearthguards charged a warrior unit, rolling perhaps 20 dice, inflicting 4 hits. The, my Warlord charged the same unit, also failing to wipe it out. Finally, my Hearthguards took a Fatigue to charge again, this time annihilating the stubborn Gondorians.

Then there was more fighting. My last Hearthguard barely survived a Hearthguard versus Hearthguard scrap, after fending off another Warrior unit. On my right, my Warriors beat the crap out of some cocky Humans.

The Levies on both sides moved towards the center (neither side had fired a single shot), but the dwindling number of SAGA Dice was beginning to be felt.

Emil went all in on attacking my Warlord, but failed to kill him (he was saved twice by his Resilience). On the end of Emil's turn, both Warlords were Exhausted, and it began to resemble the old Robin and Marian movie. We called it a day, and did not count the Massacre Points.

We both had some horrific dice rolling at certain stages in the game, but Emil suffered badly from his as it occurred late in the fight, and thus was rather decisive.

Understandably, Emil was not all that excited about the game, but he agreed to try it again when we meet up after the summer holidays. If he still dislikes SAGA, I shall read up on Age of Fantasy (non-skirmish version), and see how many units I can field for that game (or how many I have to paint up - I intend to get some of the new Citadel Contrast Paints to use for unit painting, so as to be able to get some models ready for the table faster).

2019-06-23, SAGA Age of Magic, 2nd Test Game

This time we added the rules for Lieutenants and Creatures. Ulolkish brought his Dwarves and borrowed my two bears, and I fielded a force consisting of Moria Goblins and some Citadel Dire Wolves I bought painted a couple of years ago, as I only have two painted riderless Wargs, and needed four for this warband.

On my first turn (above) I let the Wolves advance fast on my right flank, while the rest of my warband manoeuvered forward.

The Dwarves (below) also advanced, but kept their Bears close to their flank.

On my second turn, my Wolves swept in and attacked the Bears. I annihilated the enemy Creatures (I rolled a bucket of dice, and we got the Resilience rule wrong), but two of my Wolves also bought it in the process.

Then the Dwarven Warriors killed off my Wolves (Creatures are really a glass hammer, even though we did not get the Resilience rule right), and both some Warriors and their Hearthguards advanced on my left.

My Warriors then fought the Dwarves who just killed the Wolves, but failed to defeat them and had to retire. My Hearthguards charged the Dwarven Lieutenant, killed him losing 3(!) models in the fight, while my Warriors an the left fell back behind the woods to avoid getting hammered 1-2 by the two units threatening them.

The Dwarves followed and charged my Warriors on the left, but the fight was a drawn, and the Dwarves had to fall back.

Then, I lost the game by the Dwarven Levy scoring 3 hits on 4 dice on my Hearthguards with their bows. I did not manage to save any if the hits, and my Hearthguards were annihilated. Sorely disappointing performance, but, well, it is Goblins...

The next turn, on the right my Goblins and the Dwarves decimated each other, and my Warlord finished off the enemy unit. There was some ineffective fighting on the left.

On the next turn, my Warriors on the right were reduced to 3 figures, and I would now had only my Warlord generating SAGA Di(c)e, and I did not see any reason to continue the fight. Again, one single roll completely statistically off was the main reason for the final outcome; had my Hearthguards unlikely demise not happened, they could have charged the Levies and probably dispatched them without being wiped out themselves, I would still have a SAGA Dice generating unit, and would have stood a chance against the Dwarven Hearthguards.

Conclusion:

We still need to play more times to get the rules properly memorized, but this game gave me some understanding of how this edition of the game works.

Tactics are not really important; you do not get a bonus from charging, and the 2nd Ed. rules have all members of a unit in combat fight, so you cannot out-manoeuver an enemy unit, hitting it in the flank to reduce the number of models fighting your charging unit (this was possible in 1st Ed.).

Instead, it is important to hold off, until you have those killer combos on your Battle Board, giving you an edge when actually duking it out with the enemy.

Characters, although packing a lot of dice for single minis, are not really fighting  machines. They are great for mopping up the leftovers from earlier scraps, but as the Warlord's ability from 1st Ed. to fight 'side by side' with another unit by using 'We Obey' has been left out of 2nd Ed., I find him too difficult to use in an offensive role, as his Hearthguard Bodyguards are often too far away.

I may suggest we go back to using some of the rules as they were in 1st Ed., to add more tactics to the gameplay, as games may otherwise turn into very defensive affairs, if none of the sides can get the SAGA dice results they want, and do not want to risk their troops without proper Battle Board support.

And then They were Two....

I speed-pained this very old Jes Goodwin bear (a Wood Elf Beastmaster companion) today, as Ulolkish may need a couple of Quadruped Creatures to go with his Dwarves in SAGA Age of Magic tomorrow.

Next time I get something from North Star Military Figures, I shall include their rearing bear in the order, to bring the sleuth up to three members (and probably enough for Sellswords & Spellslingers).

2019-06-10.: SAGA AoM, Kingdoms vs Horde Test Game

Ulolkish and I met up in Argonor's Attic yesterday evening to finally try out SAGA Age of Magic.

We had agreed to play 4 points 'plain', that is without any of the new stuff, such af Creatures and Magic, and I had built a Gondor warband using the Great Kingdoms, 3 points of Warriors in 2 units of 12, and 1 point of Levies in 1 unit.

Upon Ulolkish' arrival, he made a Goblin Horde list comprised of 1 point of Hearthguards, 2 points of  Warriors in 2 units of 8, and 1 point of Levies in 2 units of 6.

We simply lined up our warbands 12" in on my large table, and Ulolkish started his first Turn.

Both warbands made extensive use of the Manoeuvre rule during the first two Turns, only rolling and placing SAGA Dice for practice purposes.

On my third Turn, both my Warrior units charged home, the first annihilating the Goblin Hearthguards, the second almost destroying a Hoblin Warrior unit. We forgot to use each other's Fatigue during the Melee, but that is just a lesson learned.

The Goblin Warlord then charged and beat back the Warriors on my flank -

- and the other Warrior unit took one casualty from the Goblin Levy on the hill.

By then, it was almost 11 pm, and as I wanted to get up early and see off Lea for a four day field trip to Copenhagen, we called it a night.

Casualty count was very even, I think I may have been slightly in the lead because of the destroyed Hearthguard unit, but that might have changed quickly with just a few below-average rolls.

All-in-all it was an enjoyable experience, and I look forward to play SAGA a lot more! I am certain that Kevin is also interested in playing the 'historical' version of the game, and as the game flow is almost identical in SAGA 1 and SAGA 2, we should be able to get the rules 'worked in', so as to not have to look up rules all the time (we did that a lot yesterday, as it always happens with new or not so often played games).

SAGA: Age of Magic Dice

Today, I received a parcel from Lenton, UK. This time 11 days from dispatch to arrival (with one day being a Holiday), still is not bad, considering the domestic delivery times of PostNord.

I ordered two of each set of the Age of Magic Dice, so that I can cater for both sides, no matter whar factions are played.

I have been working slowly and steadily on the Skeleton Archers, but now I think it is about time I get some of them - preferably at least eight - ready for the table!

Tomorrow, we shall be visiting my mother-in-law, so I shall not get much hobby time in, but Sunday I should be able to splash some paint on the deadites (unless, of course, the weather suddenly decides to become agreeable, in which case I shall have to do some work in the garden).

I have to take some classes Monday and Tuesday, so this week I shall not be able to make gaming appointments those two days. Hopefully Thursday, I can get an appointment with Emil for some Age of Fantasy, and then perhaps SAGA or Grimdark Firefight with Ulolkish Friday (I shall be at work Fri-Sat-Sun nights), but we shall see about that, he may have other plans, I only got my schedule for the week two days ago.

SAGA 2nd Edition and Age of Magic

I ordered these two from North Star on May 1th, and they arrived here on May 8th!

I have been wanting to play some SAGA Fantasy for quite a while, but I have not been able to convince anybody of playing A Fantastic SAGA with me, although I think that fan-powered project is quite remarkable.

I have also been holding off buying 2nd Edition as I like 1st Ed. a lot, and I have almost everything for it, but with Age of Magic coming out, I had to take the plunge...

I have been reading a lot since Wednesday, and that is the reason why I have not yet started painting the Rohan Royal Guards, and also did not yet find the time to assemble the Renedra Saxon Tents.

I have no firm grasp of the rules, yet, but Age of Magic seems to bring back strongly flavoured Battleboards, which has been a thing complained about missing from 2nd Edition.

Tomorrow, the weather should be dry and sunny, and I shall probably have to spend some time in the garden, but I hope to also start rebasing some Skeletons I dug out of a box in the garage attic yesterday.

3D-Printed: Camp & Baggage WIP

My CR10S S3 has been busy making some Camp & Baggage the last week.

The large Black Pavilion of course is the field habitation of my Necromancer,.
It can be found HERE

The Oseberg tents can be used for various purposes.

The file is to be had HERE

The first two printed have been sprayed with Army Painter Skeleton Bone and had the A-frames basecoated - I intend to do a little more work on them before each game they are to appear on the table.

The crates and the barrel are both from a Delving Decor Dwarven set - found on Thingiverse just like the tents.

I have not had time to sit down to clean up and assemble the Renedra Saxon tents - I shall reveal the reason in my next post.

Copplestone Ngoni Female Archers WIP

One of my long-term projects is painting some forces for Congo, and to that end I purchased some mixed Copplestone Africans quite a while ago.

As I also want to play some Paleo Diet in Africa, I thought I would add some archers to the spear-armed Zulus I painted back in 2016 (time flies!); I have four Zulu riflemen almost ready for primer, but I do not wish to use firearms in Paleo Diet.

It also struck me that I can work on an African warband for SAGA Age of Magic, and thus keep myself motivated for getting some minis painted from time to time.

This batch I intend to use for small breaks from Rohirrim, whenever I need some change, but I hope to get the eight Royal Guards painted fairly soon, as I need them to have a 'pure' six-points Rohan warband (and Age of Magic seems to use larger warbands than 'historical' SAGA does, so I shall see myself adding some riders to the mix this summer, too).

SAGA: Age of Magic and Anglo-Saxon Stand-ins WIP

Here is some of the stuff I have been working on this week. Metal galore!

After a long hiatus induced by stress caused by the news of my workplace shutting down this spring, thus leaving me unemployed if I cannot secure one of the fewer jobs offered by the replacement for the 'asylum' I was watching at night, I have decided to pull myself together and get back into some fantasy and historical gaming.

About a year ago, I prepped and based the first of these Royal Guards to paint up for my Rohan/Anglo-Saxon SAGA warband, and I am now aiming to get them painted up before the summer holidays (garden/work/job-search permitting).

Eight Guards give me two points of Hearthguard for SAGAj, and as soon as I add two leaders and two standard bearers, I have two units for God of Battles (and three points of Hearthguard).

I expect to use my Rohan warband, both for 'historical' games, using 1st Ed., and fantasy games to which end, yesterday I ordered SAGA 2nd Ed. and the Age of Magic 'worldbook' from North Star.

I am also contemplating to have a look at Warlords of Erehwon, as a possible transition point between SAGA and God of Battles; it seems to be playable with forces from about the size of SAGA warbands and larger.

When I have completed the Rohan warband for Age of Magic (and I do intend to add some riders), including painting a Gandalf to act as their Sorceror, I think I shall have a go at some Haradrim - Ulolkish also has some of those, and we could join up to get a playable warband ready within a relatively short time (I already painted a warband for Battle Companies years back, and I can build on that).

Well, as usual my head is spinning with plans when I start up (or reboot) a project, but at least this time I do not start from scratch, and that increases the probability for success.

This time, though, I can promise that the blog updates will come a bit more frequently over the next couple of months than has been the case since Christmas. As I am actually making progress, I now have something to write about, so stay tuned for more of my ramblings!

Second Hand Rohan Archers: One step Closer to the Gaming Table

Yes, they are still ugly.

I finished rebasing them some days ago, so as soon as I can find a gap for it (mind it!), I shall start touching up the colours (and clean up the occational mold line) so they can get a wash and join my Anglo-Saxon/Rohan SAGA warband.

Rohan Royal Guard WIP

Still at Operation Cleansweep!

I am planning to paint eight Royal Guards as Hearthguard for SAGA, and the unit will be expanded in due course for a Rohan God of Battles proxy Thousand Tribes army.

Not much more to say about it at the moment - this is the first Royal Guard I have finished prepping for painting, so I have seven more to go through (six, if I use one of my Gamling minis as leader).

I shall concentrate on getting the Gondor archers cleared away, first, though, as they are taking up space on the workspace of the prepping station.

In between, I shall start cleaning and basing some of the Bones minis I got for SS&SS.

I could sure use some days with more than 24 hours...

Gondor Archers WIP

I have had a batch of second hand plastic Minias Tirith archers on the prepping station for a long, long time, and the next phase of Operation Cleansweep is to clean them up and glue them onto washers, fill the bases, and move them on. Three done today, about ten or so left...

I intend most of them to end up in a unit for my God of Battles Gondor army.

Finished Assembling Ladgerda - Cleaning WIP

I got the sword cleaned up and attached to the Shieldmaiden today.

I tried to remove the moldline running through her face, but it is very hard to see in real life, so I have to wait until I have primed her to see if it is still visible.

This photo reveals some flash on her shoulder that I have missed, and I shall have to get the diamond needle files out for her again tomorrow (tonight is Eurovision Song Contest night, so I doubt I shall find more hobby time today).

From this angle, the shield rim looks okay, although I did not do any work on it, yet, but maybe I shall also have to give it a grind...

A slightly unfocused photo from her left side.

I think the 'lump' in front of her chin must be part of her right shoulder - it is definitely not some flash on the shield rim, although it could look as it at the first glance.

Vikings Re-post

I am re-posting my Viking warband, because another member of the Powerfist forum requested larger pics, and I need a hosting site, as Powerfist does not seem to support attaching pics to posts.

So here they are!

Ladgerda WIP

I made a bit of progress on the Shieldmaiden today. I still need to clean up and attach her short sword, but all in all I am content with the state of affairs.

Something I am not quite content with is the moldlines revealed by these pictures.

I thought I had filed away the one running through her face, and I had not noticed the one on the shield rim before.

I wonder if I can fix them without breaking the bond of the superglue holding her foot to the washer base; otherwise I shall of course just glue her on again, it is a bit annoying, though.








Here is a pic from a slightly different angle.

I shall have a look at those moldlines later this evening or tomorrow, depends on my mood - I have had a rather frustrating afternoon in the garden, trying to set some mole traps, but unable to find a proper tunnel under the molehills (they all seemed to be at the end of a tunnel), and failing to get a fallen tree leaning on a branch of another tree to come loose and onto the ground (the branch it is leaning on could suddenly snap, and the tree fall onto and kill smebody, so I have get it cleared away). I need to sharpen my chainsaw-chain, so I can cut up the trunk in smaller pieces, but that is definitely not going to happen before Monday, at least, andmore likely Tuesday, as the forecast speaks of rain.

Shieldmaiden WIP

I have begun cleaning and assembling 'Dynamic Haleth' from Hasslefree. It is going to be readied and painted as a side project, but I expect it to find use in an SS&SS warband (maybe Anna's if she decides to join Lea and me in some Family Gaming, as the mini we chose for her Viking character when trying D&D could use another Shieldmaiden companion), but I also intend to expend my Viking army with a unit of Shieldmaidens, and this one is a good beginning.

Of course, she will be usable for a lot of different games, so the time invested in her should be well spent!

LotR: Rohan Commander WIP

Another mini sitting around on my prepping station for ages is this Rohan Captain.

He should do nicely as a Warlord for my SAGA warband, and a Unit Commander or Character in a Rohan proxy Thousand Tribes army for God of Battles.

I have cleaned him up and glued him to a washer; next up is putting filler on the base.

Very soon, I shall have cleared enough workspace for my work on the Broken Legions Argonauts warband to continue, but I have some painting projects that will probably take precedence over the Hoplites.

Never the less, it is nice to get some plastic and lead shifted from the prepping station, as it had gotten too cluttered for comfort (and I still have a LOT sitting there).

LotR: Second Hand Uruk-Hai WIP

These second hand Uruk-Hai are also among the minis I am clearing away from the prepping station. I already glued them to washers a long time ago, but now I have also started building the bases, so that I can get them moved on. That sword needs to be repaired, yes.

My back permitting, I shall continue work on their bases. Unfortunately, my strained back prevents me from doing any further work today (I had to arrange myself on the couch with some pillows supporting my lower back and the laptop... on my lap (which I hate, because it prevents me from using the mouse) to write these updates).

Rohan Archers - Ready to Move On!

Put the last filler on the bases of these ugly buggers today. If my back permits it, I shall glue sand on the bases tomorrow.

Rohan Archers WIP - Working on the Bases

Yes, they are still ugly. First helping of filler on the bases today. Has to settle, before I continue.