All posts by Mark

Here’s another historical scenario for Trial by Battle. Bit of an obscure one this time …

You can also download the scenario for Battle of Hastings 1066 as a PDF: Battle of Hastings 1066.

Battle of Hastings 1066

Perhaps the most famous date in English history and one of the most famous battles of the Middle Ages, the Battle of Hastings will be familiar to many people. The background is simple. King Harold of England was resisting the invasion of Duke William of Normandy who had recently landed on the south coast of England. King Harold had marched quickly south to respond to the invasion after beating a Viking invasion force at Stamford Bridge in the north of England. He brought his elite huscarls with him and recruited other men on his way south.

Harold chose the battlefield well: a defensible hill (Senlac Hill) flanked by brooks and dense vegetation on each side with a steep slope to the rear of his position. William had only one option – a frontal assault up the hill. There are a few different versions of what happened in the battle, but it seems that the initial assaults were repulsed by the English. In their enthusiasm some of the English left their position on the hill to pursue the Bretons, Normans or other French allies down the hill. There they were cut off and destroyed by Norman cavalry. This may have been an intentional tactic by the Normans or an accident, but whatever the explanation it served to weaken the English forces on the hill. The Normans tried similar tactics to draw off more of the English and progressively weakened them until they launched a final all arms assault on the English and overwhelmed them. King Harold was either shot in the eye by an archer or killed personally by Duke William. And thus, a new phase of English history began with 1066 and all that.

Objectives

The English objective is to resist the Norman attack. They can sit on their hill and defend for the whole game if they wish. As such the Normans have a time limit in which to achieve a victory by breaking the English army. If the Normans have not won within 10 turns, then the English win the battle.

Forces

English

2 Foot Knights Units – Huscarls
4 Infantry – Fryd

Normans

2 Mounted Knights
2 Infantry
2 Archers

First Turn

The Normans take the first turn.

Battlefield

One third of the battlefield should be taken up with a large sloping ridge on which the English army is deployed. No other terrain is necessary given the scale of the battle on a 3’ x 3’ table. A suggested layout and deployment is provided below.

Deployment

See the map above. The English can deploy on the large ridge on the north side of the battlefield before the battle. Duke William’s army enters from the table edge on their first turn.

Special Rules

There are no specific special rules for this scenario, but it is strongly suggested that the New Optional rule Cavalry Disengage is used:

Cavalry Disengage

All Cavalry can disengage from melee with foot units after the first round of melee with that unit. They need to take a Unit Courage Test to do so. If they fail, they take 1d6 hits which may cause them to take another Unit Courage Test to avoid being removed from play. They will also remain engaged with the enemy unit.

Additionally Light Cavalry may disengage from Cavalry of any type.

Duration of the Battle

Until one or both armies fail an Army Courage Test or 10 Rounds, whichever is first.

Victory Conditions

An army wins when the opposing army fails an Army Courage Test and they do not. If both armies fail an Army Courage Test the battle is a draw. If the Normans have not won by the end of Round 10 the English win.

You can also download the scenario for Battle of Hastings 1066 as a PDF: Battle of Hastings 1066.

Trial by Battle

Trial by Battle Scenario: Battle of Morlaix

October 27, 2023 Mark Leave a comment

I am working on some additional content for Trial by Battle at the moment. Here’s a sample historical scenario. Hoping to have about half a dozen of these in the next book as well as some additional rules.

You can also download the scenario as a PDF: Morlaix 1342 Scenario

Battle of Morlaix, 1342

The Battle of Morlaix was fought in Morlaix on 30 September 1342 between the Anglo-Breton and Franco-Breton forces in Brittany. The Anglo-Breton under English command besieged the town, but a Franco-Breton relief force arrived. The English constructed a strong defensive position. After repeated attacks, the French forced the English to retreat into the woods, and the French force then withdrew.

The English were commanded by William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton. The French by Charles de Blois. The sources are rather sparse for the battle, but what seems to be clear is that the English were alerted to the approach of the French army coming from the east along the road from Lanmeur. The English had time before the French arrived to prepare a defensive position protected by ditches and hidden pits. Their rear was protected by a wood where they also had their camp.

The French approached the next morning arrayed in three divisions one following the other towards the English. We will call them battles or waves in this scenario. Each of the French waves attacked one at a time and in theory each was large enough on its own to defeat the English. The first wave was probably thrown back before they reached the hidden pits – presumably by arrow fire. The French then held a council of war and decided to attack again. This time they reached the English lines, but the French cavalry was thrown into confusion by the pits and fled with great losses. The third French wave now approached, and the English who were running low on arrows decided to retreat to the woods before they were overwhelmed. The French tried to break into the English defences in the wood, but the position was too strong. The French withdrew and the English did as well under cover of night.

To recreate the battle as a wargame some additional rules have been introduced, including limited ammunition for the English archers, the English field defences, and the possibility for the English to retreat to the wood.

Objectives

The French player’s objective is to defeat the English army in open battle and also to prevent them retreating to the wood.

The English player wins by either defeating the whole French army (which is much bigger), or by being able to disengage from combat and retreat to the wood behind their position. They can only do this after the French third battle is released to fight.

Forces

English Army

Seven 6” sections of pits

4 Archer units

1 Foot Knights unit

French Army

6 Mounted Knight units

2 Archer units

3 Infantry units

Organised in Three Battles or Waves of attack. The French player determines before the battle which units are in which Wave. There must be between 3 and 4 units per Wave.

Battlefield

Brook:

Can be easily crossed but treat as difficult ground.

Wood:

Exception to normal rules, can be moved into by English units only once the French 3rd wave enters the battlefield.

Road:

No effect on movement

Deployment

The English are free to deploy anywhere within their deployment zone on the Battlefield. When deploying pits these must be within the deployment zone.

The French player enters with each wave from the Eastern table edge from the direction of Lanmeur. Second and Third waves enter the eastern table edge as follows:

Second Wave: when there is only 1 remaining unit from the first wave.

Third Wave: When there is only 2 remaining units from the second or first wave.

First Turn

French

Special Rules

There are a number of special rules in this scenario.

Ditches and Pits

Use the new rules for Pits – see below.

Treated as difficult ground for movement purposes, so half move for all Units. Can either be a linear static defence – such as stakes or an area static defence such as pits or ditches. Area static defences are 6” by 3”.

Cavalry must also pass a Unit Courage Test to cross the static defences (must roll 7 or less on 2d6, 8 or less if General with them). If failed, they do not break but remain stationary for that Round. They may attempt to cross again next Round or move away. If moving away through area static defences they do not need to pass a test, but their movement is still halved.

Ditches Filled

After two waves of attacks some historians believe that the ditches became trampled down and filled with bodies, meaning that their effectiveness as a defence diminished. To represent this, once two French Units have entered and left a 6” section of ditches that terrain item is removed. The French unit can leave of its own accord or be removed through a Unit Courage Test.

Limited Arrow Supply for English

6 Turns of shooting allowed. Use a dice next to each Archer unit to track.

English Retreat to the Woods

The English may attempt to retreat to the Woods once the French third wave enters the battlefield.

If they manage to get 3 units into the woods, then they win the battle.

Duration of the Battle

Until one or both armies fail an Army Courage Test or until English retreat to the Woods with at least 3 units.

Victory Conditions

An army wins when the opposing army fails an Army Courage Test and they do not. If both armies fail an Army Courage Test the battle is a draw.

The English can also win if they retreat to the Woods with at least 3 units.

You can also download the scenario as a PDF: Morlaix 1342 Scenario

Games, Mark Lord’s Writing, Trial by Battle, Wargaming

Trial by Battle – some supplemental rules for Later Medieval Battles

August 16, 2023 Mark Leave a comment

Due to popular demand I have put together some additional rules for Trial by Battle for later medieval wars – particularly War of the Roses.

These are as of yet not play-tested, but will at some point form part of supplements for the Hundred Years War and War of the Roses.

They can be downloaded here: War of the Roses – new Rules v2

And here they are in text form:

New Rules for Later Medieval Battles

Pits/stakes and static defences

Also, for use in Hundred Years War supplement

To cross an area of pits Mounted Knights would have to pass two consecutive tests while presumably under fire from Archers.

New Units

New Units added to the list for quick reference below, plus any special rules below.

Unit Name	Move	Terrain	Archery Hits	Range	Melee Hits	Save	Stamina
Mounted Knights	9”	Not Woods	n/a	n/a	1d6+1/1d6	4+	6
Light Cavalry	12”	All	1d6-2	12”	1d6-2	6+	6
Foot Knights	4”	Not Woods	n/a	n/a	1d6	3+	6
Infantry	6”	Not Woods	n/a	n/a	1d6-1	4+	6
Archers	6”	Not Woods	1d6-1	18”	1d6-2	5+	6
Light Infantry	9”	All	n/a	n/a	1d6-2	6+	6
Arbalesters	6”	Not Woods	1d6-1	18”	1d6-2	4+	6
Handgunners	6”	Not Woods	1d6-1	18”	1d6-2	5+	6
Pikemen	4”	Clear only	n/a	n/a	1d6+1	3+	6
Artillery	2”	Clear only	1d6-2	30”	n/a	5+	3
General	12”	Not Woods	n/a	n/a	+1	n/a	n/a

Arbalesters

Heavy late medieval crossbowmen. Use Pavise for cover – thus the higher save. Reduce save to 5+ if pavises not available.

Slow firing: fire every other turn

Armour Piercing: -1 to Save from Archery hits.

Handgunners

Late medieval handgun. Slow firing but caused fear in enemy troops.

Slow firing: fire every other turn

Cause Fear: If enemy lose 2 or more stamina because of Handguns in one Round, must make a Unit Courage Test.

Pikemen

Slow to manoeuvre but effective against Cavalry and other infantry.
Movement reduced to half for 45 and 90 degree turn. Cannot move if turn 180 degrees.
Cannot cross obstacles or difficult ground

Artillery

Covers range of different artillery pieces seen on the battlefield. Slow to manoeuvre, but greater range than other weapons.

Slow firing: fire every other turn

Cause Fear: If enemy lose 2 or more stamina because of Artillery in one Round, must make a Unit Courage Test.

Mark Lord’s Writing, Wargaming

Trial by Battle – my first Wargames Rules

July 19, 2023 Mark 5 Comments

Very excited to report that I have just published my first set of wargames rules: Trial by Battle. I wanted to do this for a long time. As I have an interest in writing and in playing wargames, it seemed a natural thing to do. I started with what I think are quite a quick and easy set of wargames rules for the Medieval period. I was thinking of something more ambitious initially, but soon decided that limiting my scope was a good idea to start with.

You can find out more about the rules on their product page together with links to retailers where you can purchase the book or get a free sample. Probably the best option for wargamers is the PDF which can be bought at Wargames Vault.

I found the whole process of creating the rules, playtesting and then finally writing them up for publication a lot harder than I thought it would be – and these are only a short set of rules at only 42 pages for the printed book! I am sure that I will be able to improve the process and hopefully make the next set of rules easier to write.

But I am excited to see that some people have already bought the rules at Wargames Vault! Not sure yet how I am going to get word out about the rules. That will be the next thing to investigate. My main focus though will be on producing more content and improving my skills as a rules writer.

What next? I might write some historical scenarios for the rules, add some more army lists. Expand the rules a bit for bigger sized battles. Maybe swerve into other historical periods. Add a fantasy element? Not sure at the moment. Lots of ideas!

I also have a set of medieval skirmish rules that I have posted on this blog that I could write up properly, so that could be the next project. But I am also tempted to go off at a tangent and do something RPG related. Maybe a choose your own adventure? Let’s see. Getting Trial by Battle out there has certainly given me a buzz and I am looking forward to seeing what people think of it.

Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer: The Old World

Warhammer: The Old World Which Factions to Choose

June 7, 2023 Mark Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of older editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, having started gaming and miniature collecting when the 2nd edition came out and then carrying on playing with the 3rd edition before taking a long break. Just when I got back into gaming I found out that the Old World was about to be destroyed and that it was all Age of Sigmar. I’ve collected, painted and played Age of Sigmar, and it’s OK. The game mechanics are actually really good and the games generally fun. The detail and design of the miniatures are awesome. But for me nothing can beat the nostalgia of those earlier days or Warhammer and the more traditional fantasy armies and battles. Ranked units of goblins and dwarfs, elves and men etc.

That’s why I’m really excited that Warhammer’s Old World is now coming back. A few years it was a vague rumour about square bases and a few teasing maps, but now there are more and more details and it looks like it should be out maybe later this year with any luck.

Now that it’s so tangible I have started looking at my own collection of figures and started to think about what faction I might get behind. Empire of Man fits quite well with what I have but I’m always keen on Orcs & Goblins too. Perhaps the whole lot? Who knows. More thoughts on this soon. And hopefully some more info from Games Workshop about what’s coming to help me decide!

Games, Medieval Warfare, Wargaming

Medieval Skirmish Wargames Rules

May 19, 2023 Mark Leave a comment

I have been working on writing some medieval skirmish wargames rules recently. Here’s a first draft that I’m currently playtesting. I have included some sample stat blocks at the end of the rules. Would be great to get any feedback if you want to leave a comment at the end of the post.

Medieval Skirmish Wargames Rules

Principles

Small scale skirmish – up to a dozen figures a side

High to late medieval setting.

Each figure has a stat line:

Initiative
Move
Shoot Skill – if applicable
Melee Skill
Weapon properties
Bravery
Special Abilities

Tokens needed for Light and Serious Wounds. Ideally have casualty figures for casualties!

Turn Sequence

Activations
Take Actions
Resolve Bravery rolls
Determine if a Winner

Activations

Two sets of different coloured dice – in a bag. One dice per figure.

Dice drawn to determine which side goes next. Then dice thrown to determine number of actions – use as a d3. Some figures may have +1 or -1 initiative and be able to take more actions. Never below 1.

Actions are:

Move – if want to run need two or more Move actions.

Fight – can fight twice if have enough actions.

Shoot – again can shoot more if have more actions.

Leaders/specials – can do things like rally/challenge other knights, pray etc.

After Activation – put the dice next to them to indicate moved.

Move

Standard 6” etc – more detail tbc here!

Shooting

Simple to hit roll. Normally 3+ unless opponent has moved twice in the turn.

Melee

Opposed Roll – d6 + Fighting Skill

Average Soldier would be +1

Loser – pushed back.

If Loser rolls a natural 1 – they slip or trip and lie prone – can get up in their turn but at risk if attacked before then.

Winner can follow-up or use it as opportunity to disengage – can’t otherwise without risk.

If Winner rolls a modified 6 or more then loser takes damage.

Damage

Hit Location!

1: Head

2-3: arms

4-5: body

6: legs

If roll is 7+ to hit then can specify location.

If armoured on that location – defee

Mail or brigandine etc – 5+ savnder gets to make a save – weapon modifies that. If not then roll 1d6.

Plate or enclosed helm: 4+ save

Heavy weapon – e.g. halberd etc: -1 to save. Dagger: +1 to save etc. More granular than this for different weapon types.

Some weapons might add to initiative for instance as well. Factor these into stat lines. Or is it better to have normal stat line and then have to add in weapons factors – as reminds player that weapons are contributing to their rolls etc?

1-3 – light wound (can carry on, but can only do max of two activations)

4-5 serious wound (max of one activation and penalties to rolls etc).

6 – dead.

Need tokens for wounds.

Bravery

If leader wounded or someone else killed in that turn – then test for bravery for each person. Modifier of +1 per killed person in total.

2d6 under or equal to Bravery.

If failed then flee token and person can only spend activations running away until rallied by leader.

Medieval Skirmish Wargames Rules – Stats

Man-at-Arms

Initiative	Move	Shoot Skill	Melee Skill	Bravery
0	5”	0	+2	8

Special Abilities:

Aimed blow Can +1 or -1 when selecting hit location.

Weapon properties:

Two-handed weapon: +1 to Damage roll

Foot Sergeant

Initiative	Move	Shoot Skill	Melee Skill	Bravery
0	6”	0	+1	7

Special Abilities:

–

Weapon properties:

Long Spear – can attack when 1” away – if so -1 Melee Skill, but opponent cannot hurt wielder.

Glaive/bill – two-handed.

Archer

Initiative	Move	Shoot Skill	Melee Skill	Bravery
0	6”	+1	0	7

Special Abilities:

Mallets and poignards. If outnumber a man-at-arms get a +1 to melee skill.

Weapon properties:

Longbow. Fast shooting. Can use all activations in a turn to shoot.

If Elite archer – +1 Initiative – so possibility of 4 shots per turn.

Crossbowman

Initiative	Move	Shoot Skill	Melee Skill	Bravery
0	6”	+1	0	7

Special Abilities:

Pavise – if supported by pavisier, the crossbowman is almost immune to archery -2 to hit.

Weapon properties:

Maximum of one shot in a Turn. Can only move and shoot if has 3+ activations.

A verray, parfit, gentil knyght

Initiative	Move	Shoot Skill	Melee Skill	Bravery
+1	5”/10”	0	+2	9

Special Abilities:

Challenge: If another knight on the table can use an action to make a challenge. Other knight must accept or lose ability to rally. Both knights will only fight each other until decided. More detailed rules for the challenge.

Rally: If within 12” can use action to rally fleeing troops. They roll on knight’s bravery to stop fleeing.

Mounted: If mounted – 10” move. Rules for attacking horse? Horse defence?

Weapon properties:

If mounted, then can use Lance to charge: +1 Damage and enemy can’t attack back – like spear? Charge takes knight past their enemy?

Dismounted – Two-handed as per Man-at-arms: +1 Damage

Priest

Initiative	Move	Shoot Skill	Melee Skill	Bravery
0	6”	0	0	6

Special Abilities:

Pray: Add reroll

Peace of God: Allows battle to end before too many people are hurt?

Weapon properties:

–

Games, Medieval Warfare, Miniatures, Wargaming

Wars of the Roses Strategy Battle Game rules posted

January 13, 2023 Mark Leave a comment

I’ve just posted up the rules that I wrote a while ago to a Wars of the Roses version of Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth) Strategy Battle Game. The rules are just the additional things that you might need like profiles, weapons and some special abilities that will add some Wars of the Roses flavour to a game of Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game.

They’re in no way complete – there’s no rules for heroes, cavalry, Irish Kerns etc, but they do include rules for some of the most typical Wars of the Roses troop types: billmen, longbow archers etc. They’re inspired by other adaptations such as Age of Trebuchet and Legends of the Middle Ages.

The rules can be downloaded in PDF here or you can read them online here.

Games, Miniatures, Wargaming

Pelennor Fields Battle Photos

January 6, 2023 Mark Leave a comment

Played this game last summer, but only just got round to having a proper look at the Pelennor Fields battle photos I took at the time, and thought they would be worth posting here. Don’t ask me for an AAR (After Action Report) on the game, but we basically played the main big battle from Games Workshop’s Pelennor Fields starter set. Great fun and looked amazing! Especially the Witch King on Fell Beast – he was a real bugger to put together let me tell you – and paint – only broke a couple of times …

Morannan Orcs knocked prone by charge of the Rohirrim

Witch King of Angmar vs Theoden, King of Rohan

Games, Wargaming

Testing out Terrain for 6mm WW2

September 1, 2022 Mark 2 Comments

I tested out some terrain I made recently for WW2 at 6mm (1/300) scale wargames. I made some basic fields out of card, clump foliage and flock and I think they look pretty good. The trees were cheap on ebay and again on simple card base.

I also used some paper 1/300 buildings on a simple card stand – bought on Wargames Vault. The buildings look huge don’t they for a microarmor game! They’re quite nice buildings, cheap and easy to make so no complaints there. I have read that people often use 2mm or 3mm scale buildings for 6mm and I think I might go down that route in the future. I’m planning on doing 1 stand = 1 platoon rather than a squad so a smaller building imprint would make sense.

Games, Miniatures, Wargaming

Woodland Scenic Tree Armatures Glue Tip

August 16, 2022 Mark Leave a comment

A quick hobby tip that I thought I would share in case anyone else comes across the same problem. I tried my hand for the first time at making my own trees for wargaming using the Woodland Scenics Armatures and their clump foliage. I couldn’t get hold of their Hob-e-Tac glue for attaching the clump foliage, so used a tacky glue bought from Hobbycraft. Not sure about this, but I assume it was supposed to be similar. Anyway I got the clump foliage to stick to the armatures which was the first stage. Then what you are supposed to do is spray the tree with Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement (basically watered down PVA), which I did but that resulted in most of my clump foliage simply falling off straight away!

Now this might be do with the tacky glue – perhaps Hob-e-tac is amazing – although a search on the internet seems to indicate it is not. I tried some alternatives. Super glue fixed the clump foliage perfectly and strongly, but I didn’t fancy using my tiny tube of super glue on lots of trees, so I looked around for something else. I had some Bostik Contact Adhesive for making Peter Dennis’s Paper Soldiers. I tried this – you’re supposed to attach to both parts and then wait for it to dry four minutes to get a good bond. I did do that, but gluing bits of clump foliage was not ideal, so I thought why not just plonk it on the armature and see if the clump foliage will stick straightaway – and as Bob Ross would say I had a happy accident! It worked like a dream. A really solid fix. I tried spraying the Scenic Cement on and that worked great as well – no bits of clump foliage dropping off.

Here’s a photo of two sorry trees on the right after spraying – using the Tacky glue, and on the left is the one with Bostik – looking very solid!

So the long and short of it is try Bostik Contact adhesive for sticking clump foliage to stuff!

Battle of Hastings 1066

Objectives

Forces

English

Normans

First Turn

Battlefield

Deployment

Special Rules

Cavalry Disengage

Duration of the Battle

Victory Conditions

Share this:

Battle of Morlaix, 1342

Objectives

Forces

French Army

Battlefield

Deployment

First Turn

Special Rules

Ditches and Pits

Ditches Filled

Limited Arrow Supply for English

English Retreat to the Woods

Duration of the Battle

Victory Conditions

Share this:

New Rules for Later Medieval Battles

Pits/stakes and static defences

New Units

Arbalesters

Handgunners

Pikemen

Artillery

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Medieval Skirmish Wargames Rules

Principles

Turn Sequence

Activations

Move

Shooting

Melee

Damage

Bravery

Medieval Skirmish Wargames Rules – Stats

Man-at-Arms

Foot Sergeant

Archer

Crossbowman

A verray, parfit, gentil knyght

Priest

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: