Roman Rampant
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 6:47 am
We've been gaming a lot of Lion Rampant II lately. As a type of experiment, we used the rules with my Late Roman, Hun & Goth forces.
It resulted in the usual, fast-moving & enjoyable game & although we used the rules without change, it had a ...different....feel.
The chosen scenario was 'Ferry Across the Mersey' from the rulebook.
We decided to have four 32 point retinues: two Late Roman, a Hun and a Goth force - Romans against barbarians. Each retinue was placed on a different quadrant.
The Huns were heavy with light cavalry:
Both Roman forces had a nice mixture of historical troop types including he dreaded cataphracts:
And the Goths (who I forgot to photograph) looked a lot like somewhat hairier Romans.
The battle, of course, raged around the two fords. As Hun commander, I found the ford was soon blocked by fairly impenetrable Roman infantry shield walls. I was able to fire arrows & javelins across the river but never was able to cross the ford.
My ally, the Goth commander, was also unable to seize his ford but here, the Romans crossed & took the battle to him.
They even lost their king (Theodo-something???) whilst my leader, the redoubtable Attila remained snug at the rear with the unit of Hun heavy cavalry.
I think one of the Roman commanders (Pompos Greatus??) also perished. Careless.
Although the barbarians destroyed several Roman units, their losses plus Victory points for holding the fords gave the Romans their victory.
The Goths were nearly destroyed by this stage. However, my fairly intact Huns went home to feast on horse flesh & mare's milk and complain about their worthless allies (no wonder no one likes the Huns).
So why was it different? I'm not sure. The troop types, whilst conforming to the rules, were more diverse than we usually use medievally, Maybe in was just the different look.
An experiment I will repeat.
donald
It resulted in the usual, fast-moving & enjoyable game & although we used the rules without change, it had a ...different....feel.
The chosen scenario was 'Ferry Across the Mersey' from the rulebook.
We decided to have four 32 point retinues: two Late Roman, a Hun and a Goth force - Romans against barbarians. Each retinue was placed on a different quadrant.
The Huns were heavy with light cavalry:
Both Roman forces had a nice mixture of historical troop types including he dreaded cataphracts:
And the Goths (who I forgot to photograph) looked a lot like somewhat hairier Romans.
The battle, of course, raged around the two fords. As Hun commander, I found the ford was soon blocked by fairly impenetrable Roman infantry shield walls. I was able to fire arrows & javelins across the river but never was able to cross the ford.
My ally, the Goth commander, was also unable to seize his ford but here, the Romans crossed & took the battle to him.
They even lost their king (Theodo-something???) whilst my leader, the redoubtable Attila remained snug at the rear with the unit of Hun heavy cavalry.
I think one of the Roman commanders (Pompos Greatus??) also perished. Careless.
Although the barbarians destroyed several Roman units, their losses plus Victory points for holding the fords gave the Romans their victory.
The Goths were nearly destroyed by this stage. However, my fairly intact Huns went home to feast on horse flesh & mare's milk and complain about their worthless allies (no wonder no one likes the Huns).
So why was it different? I'm not sure. The troop types, whilst conforming to the rules, were more diverse than we usually use medievally, Maybe in was just the different look.
An experiment I will repeat.
donald
