AAR Picts Vs Late Romans

It's been three months since my last post and 6 weeks since this game, but better late than never!

Back in early May I ran a game using To The Strongest (TtS) and my Pictish and late Rom an armies.  The scenario was the Broken Ground scenario from this classic with the Picts defending and the Romans attacking.  The Picts held a line of hills and the Romans needed to capture the two passes between the hills, best accomplished by defeating the Pict army.

Can't recall all of what happened, but I do know that.

• It was a close game, with both sides down to their last victory medal and the Romans eking it out after both sides missed opportunities for the kill.
• Stacy and Sylvain took the Late Romans, Curt and I led the Picts.
• The Pictish combination of Spears, skirmishers and mounted troops make for an interesting change from the bog standard war band barbarian hordes.
• We'd played a lot of WFB type armies which don't field many light troops so it was a bit of a learning process.  The one hit units were a challenge to face and field.
• Sylvain tried his usual wide flanking move with cavalry on their right flank (Pictish left flank in the photos), which we managed to mostly counter since he opened a gap from his centre.

The Pict centre

Our camp.  The Pictish stone came from a local "If it's not Scottish it's Craaap" shop. 

Roman flanking attempt finds itself flanked. 

A wider view of the same situation

View from the Pictish right.

First class pointing from Stacy.

The centres close.

Infantry scrum!

Typically confused state late in the day!

I take solace for our loss with the Pictish Warhound.

Late Roman AAR Reinforcements on The Table

Yes this makes too AARs in the space of a week and a half.  This week Curt's been hosting Phil H, a British gamer who's been based in the US for a few years and is now on his way back to Blighty.  Phil wanted to get as many games in as possible, so we've been taking turns to run games.  This Tuesday was my turn and I ran a To the Strongest game featuring my Late Romans vs Barbarian Conspiracy Armies.

I went for a favourite scenario from this well thumbed chestnut from the 1980s

I've played this one many times with many rules and in many eras from Hoplites to Desert Rats.

The Romans had a division isolated commanded by Phil on the ridge line which was rough ground, and I had the bulk of their forces coming from the town.  The Barbarians were led by Curt and Stacy and had a 4:3 overall advantage in points and needed to capture the ridge line.  

It can be a nail biter as the race to get to the ridge first heats up.  The activation system in TtS added to the tension as units (or divisions for that matter) might move one move or two or maybe not move at all.   Early on it looked like the Roman reinforcements had the jump on the Barbarians with a couple of good turns worth of activations.  Meanwhile Phils' defenders had some good rounds of missile fire, disordering Stacy's Irish hordes.  

Stacy's Irish advance on the ridge,

My reinforcements exit the town and hasten for the ridge.

My cavalry looks to be closing the gap fast enough to turn the tide.

However, as is often the case the tides of battle swing from one side's favour to the other and Curt and Stacy started to even out the activation luck.  Stacy did well to push on with all of his Irish to wear down the defenders and his Picts and  Curt 's Attacotti advanced swiftly to threaten the reinforements.

The Picts advance to counter the Roman cavalry.  This was the cavalry's furthest advance as they need to evade back several times.  Note the Pict archers which Stacy cleverly placed in his back rank to fire over the spearmint, and then forgot about.

Meanwhile there's a scrum on the hill.  Phil's auxiliaries had a couple of good turns helped by good saving scores.  But eventually, hits had to strike home.

Roman Cavalry vs Attaccati fanatics,  That's Phil in the background.

By this time the defenders on the hill were broken and the cavalry reinforcements were pulling back.

Around this time Phil and I had a turn of Epic activation fails (significantly right after Stacy left for the evening).  We managed to do enough to get us out of position and not enough to get ourselves re-positioned.

The foot units from the fort did make it up onto the ridge and managed to push bask a unit of Picts, but it was too little too late.   

TtS let us play a game with reasonable sized armies and a fair bit of manoeuvre and play it out to a conclusion in the space of a school night evening.  Plus it seems to give a reasonable result while being fun and fast to play.  I was worried that the random activation system might throw the balance of timing off, but in the end it worked well and added to the drama and tension.

Late Romans vs Barbarians AAR

 I knew it had been a while since I posted anything, but didn't think it had been as long as five months.  I had a busy end of term (176 students in a first year calculus class with many suspected cheating incidents) and then a busy spring with Garden prep and travel.

A week or so back I ran a To The Strongest game over at Curt's clubhouse feature my late Roman era British toys.  Player numbers were down due to stomach issues (must find a better place for the latrine) but we had Curt running a conspiracy of Scots-Irish, Picts and Attacotti vs Sylvain's Romans.  it was a straight up class with roughly equal armies and no particular scenario objectives.

After deployment.  The mass of barbarians to the left, the defenders of Britannia to the right.

Close up as the Roman cavalry commander gives a pep talk.

The Irish on Curt's right.  We had to adjust things a bit as his war bands are deep and he couldn't fit two of them in the same box. 

Sylvain ponders his moves.  The hills were gentle but the woods were rough terrain, as was the stone circle.  Note the cup with the victory medals.

Sylvain pushed his luck and advanced his cavalry.  We pull numbered chits from a bag rather than roll dice but the gods were definitely with Sylvain this game.  Note the blue marker marking the edge of the world which Sylvain is using to advantage - I'll be making the battlefield wider and deployment areas narrower to counter this cheesiness in future.

The Pict commander rides past the stone circle in his chariot along side accompanying a unit of light cavalry.  This warlord had disastrously bad luck.  Kudos to terraformer Sylvain who sculpted the neolithic monuments for me.

Another shot as the cavalry ride along the edge of the world.  Sylvain sculpted the dolmen too, which we also classified as difficult.

Things were looking good for Curt here, he swung a war band into the side of the cavalry before they could turn.  The cavalry were disordered but Curt missed several chances for the kill thanks to Sylvain's saving rolls.

The Picts advance.  Sylvain refused his right flank ala Freddie the Great.

The Atacotti charge the fortified Roman camp.  They took out the original ballista crew defenders but by that time Sylvain moved some veteran Auxiliaries in behind.  Again Curt was inches from glory but couldn't quite get the kill.  Note that the camp should have been back a grid row on Sytlvain's baseline. 

Curt's javelin men occupy the dolmen as the cavalry rushes by,

The melee with the Cavalry wing gets messier.  Having held on the lead unit turns, and the following unit advanced up to take one Irish unit after another in the flank, taking down Curt's senior general in the end.

More glory for the Attoctti who have eliminated some archers and are coming on the flank of an Auxiliary unit.

I somehow managed to miss the key moment, the end of which can be seen behind the camp in the last photo.

Curt brought the Pict Light Cavalry up with their attached general to skirmish with and threaten the Roman missle troops to the right of the camp. Unfortunately they halted just short of caring, but had time next turn unless Sylvain achieved a miracle.  He made two difficult maneuvers running to charge the lights with an infantry unit.  Curt failed to evade (needing 3+ out of 10) and then doubled down by failing the reroll afforded by his general.  Sylvain hit and Curt missed his save, killing the unit.  He then had to roll for the general needed a 3+ to survive, and if course failing that two.   

There was lots of drama and it was at times a close run thing, but in the end Curt couldn't overcome the loss of two generals on top of his other unit losses.  A victory to Sylvain who best not push his luck with the dice gods (or his GM) next game. 

AAR Late Romans vs Scots-Irish

 We had a good game of To the Strongest last night at Curt's man shed.  Two equal armies tasked with holding.a dominant hill with a 10 turn time limit.  Each side had one command on table with another arriving later.

Photo AAR below

After early moves, Romans to the right with archers edging onto the hill.

Roman battle line of 3 veteran auxiliary units

Irish warriors

Roman commanders Jeremy and Curt

While Sylvain's Irish reinforcements arrived early, they had trouble moving further  on to the table.  Curt's Roman cavalry arrived piece meal but the first to units swept forward quickly.

Curt's cavalry command

Getting closer

The infantry scrum commences while both side's left flanks wheel to face.

Victorious Attaccati roll onward!

Close to the end.  Curt's heavy cavalry tried to run over some skirmishers but Sylvain successfully evaded three times running. Now out of position, the cavalry all falling back with Sylvain in pursuit.  

In the end the Irish came very close to breaking the Romans, having eliminated two cohorts and some archers.  However, when the time bell rang the Romans held the hill and won the day.

Barbarian Conspiracy AAR Pt 3

 Essentially things came down to the gods of battle but the key events were as follows.

• On the Roman right, Stacy wanted to use his three cavalry units to charge the Irish before they got a chance to close.  The Roman cavalry advanced to be next to the Irish but could not close home as a result of there TtS activation system.
• An Irish counter charge caught the cavalry and Stacy opted to stay and fight rather than evade and risk getting caught in the back.  This led to a long melee and eventually the loss of a Roman cavalry unit.
• On the other flank there was an exchange of missiles and then the infantry closed, with honours about even with both sides losing a unit.
• On the extreme Roman right, Curt winkled a unit of Irish javelin men through the woods and into the flank on the right most roman cavalry and eliminated it.
• This sealed the deal as the Romans were over their break point.  
  
  
  
  

  

  Stacy moves up to the Irish but did not manage to charge.  TtS uses a grid system, so  while the units are in adjacent gird boxes they did not close.  Curt's grid lines are very subtle FYI!

  
  

Close up of the melee once the Irish charged home.

Curt's flanking manouver!

The action from the other flank!

Everybody except the lights are engaged now.

The infantry melee with holes in both lines.  the Irish trying to swivel and attack.

The melee from behind the Irish lines.  One the left the first Roman LC unit has been eliminated

All in all we had a fun game, and the rules were easy to play.  There were things I forgot or got wrong and from to impose on both sides.