Saturday, August 1, 2015

First St Albans - Lion Rampant AAR

Just finished another enjoyable game - this time based on the First Battle of St Albans. My buddy ran the royalists inside of the town and I ran the rebels led by the Duke of York and Earl of Warwick. The King's forces had six units - one mounted serjeants, two foot MAA's, and three yeomen with mixed weapons (bows and spears). The Yorkists had nine units - two mounted serjeants, three foot MAA's and four yeomen with mixed weapons (bows and spears). The terrain which included plowed fields, woods, hedges ditches and stone walls was supposed to slow down the Yorkists' advance - which it did but the shorter 12" range of the bows in mixed units were not favorable for the King's troops. The Yorkists ended up getting inside the town over the field barricades at the entrances into the town at Sopwell and Shropshire Lanes. Once inside their superior numbers decided the battle. During the AAR it was recommended to have the bowmen inside the town as separate bow units - giving them the better 18" range. Otherwise we both agreed the rules worked very nicely for the scenario.
Initial deployment by Yorkists forces outside of St Albans along Sopwell and Shropshire Lanes, the River Ver on the southern flank.
The king's men manning the eastern perimeter of St Albans.
View looking south with Shropshire Lane in the foreground.
Yorkists forces moving towards St Albans on Sopwell Lane.
King Henry's forces manning the eastern walls of St Albans.
Sopwell Lane in the foreground with Yorkists forces making good headway towards the town.
Yorkists boldly advancing upon St Albans - still out of enemy bow range.
The Duke of York pressing the attack on Shropshire Lane. Foot MAA soon to climb over improvised barricades.
Yorkists attempt to dislodge the defenders at Sopwell Lane with arrow fire.
Foot MAA bravely defend the town at Sopwell Lane.
Yorkists Foot MAA having breached the walls and barricades at Shropshire Lane engage in close combat with Mounted Serjeants. The Foot MAA got the better of the mounted troops, who had to retreat.
The outnumbered forces of the king failing to keep out the Yorkists, are overwhelmed and defeated.
 Yay! Now we can move on to a lasting peace!

Addendum: One thing which was found to be a bit brutal, harsh as the author puts it, is the Courage test required by units taking casualties, particularly winners of combat. There was at least one occasion during the game where a clear winner of combat failed their Courage test and was routed off the table. We made an on-the-spot house rule (at least for this game), negating the need for a Courage test for units which won their round of combat. We'll see if we keep this mod in future games.

51 comments:

  1. Marvelous looking game/figures and write up of the game too.....thanks for sharing Dean!

    cheers,

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    1. My pleasure, Phil! Lion Rampant is such a nice game to play - simple, fast-play yet enjoyable. Warm Regards, Dean

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  2. Great looking game! Huzzah for the Duke of York!

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    1. Thanks a lot, Tim! Appreciate your visit and kind words. Best, Dean

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  3. Fantastic report Dean. Love the photos!

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    1. Thank you kindly, Rodger! I'm please to say the rules worked very nicely for this scenario. Regards, Dean

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  4. Thank Yu Dean,for report such like this! I love battefiels ( houses are great!) and painted minis!

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  5. Thanks, Mike! I've been wanting to finally place this game out. It was quite enjoyable with the Lion Rampant rules. Warm Regards, Dean

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  6. Great report, cheers Dean. I've ordered the rules and am waiting for them to show up this week!

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    1. I'm sure you'll enjoy them, Nate. If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Dux Rampant forum - lots of good info on the rules - including those by the author. Best, Dean

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  7. I do enjoy your games Dean, great job Sir.

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    1. Thanks, Michael. Glad to hear that - your work always inspires. Regards, Dean

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  8. Great work, the village buildings, "sitting" well this battlefield entity

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    1. Thanks, MM. Can't wait to use the buildings again in some other scenario - possibly Fantasy :) Best, Dean

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    1. Thank you very much, Tamsin. Warm Regards, Dean

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  10. AAR was pleasant. Thanks, Dean 8)

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    1. Thanks! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the game. Best, Dean

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  11. Nice Report Dean. Miniatures and tables look excellent as always!

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    1. Appreciate your visit and nice comments, Simon. Warm regards, Dean

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  12. That was a cool looking game and enjoyable BatRep! Your fencing is quite appealing.

    Are you developing a preference to skirmish gaming over the larger battles?

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    1. Thanks, Jonathan. Great question - skirmish games tend to require less figures and table space, as well as faster-playing: all favorable factors for me. Funny thing is the table size and figure count aren't much different from the Bosworth game using Hail Caesar awhile back :) Best, Dean

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  13. Great AAR Dean, makes me want to dig out my copy of kingmarker :-)
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Thanks, Stu! Glad you enjoyed it and may have you get a similar game in too. Best, Dean

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  14. That was a great report Dean, nice one!!

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  15. Great looking game Dean. I love your village! Now I need to do something like this for myself!

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    1. Thanks! I really like the houses too. Regards, Dean

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  16. Nice batrep... might need to look at my as yet unused 28mm WotR collection and convert to Lion Rampant!

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    1. Thanks, Mike. I think LR would be great for your collection. Warm regards, Dean

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  17. Great looking game. Good to see the town clock tower, nice touch.

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    1. Thanks, Matt! Yes, a chance to get that GW Fantasy tower on the table :) Warm Regards, Dean

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  18. Really good Dean - great table, game and figures. Looks like a lot of fun.
    Cheers,
    Doc

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    1. Mahalo, Doc. Appreciate your approval and kind words. Aloha, Dean

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  19. Thanks, Christopher; LR is a nice set for quick games - which I enjoy. One thing is the Courage (Leadership) tests can be harsh - particularly when taken for casualties. We had winners of combat break after failing their tests. Best, Dean

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  20. Very nice setting for your fantastic minis - and a most adequate and elegant T-shirt, I must say! :D Warm regards and thanks for sharing :D

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    1. Thanks, RM. That's my buddy wearing the Templars shirt. He's a self professed 21st Century Crusader :) Warm regards, Dean

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  21. The new additions to your terrain really adds to the table Dean, great looking game.

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    1. Thanks, Soren! Appreciate the visit and nice comments. I've seen the announcements of the pike & shot version coming out. I'll have to add that to Dragon Rampant also. BTW, I've been in a bit of a painting slump, so blogs like yours are inspiring! Regards, Dean

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  22. I still haven't got around to trying out these rules but seeing your superb game is helping to point me in the right direction.

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    1. Thank you very much for the visit and kind comment, Pat. An upside for these rule is the modest cost - not only for the nicely written and illustrated rulebook, but also the relatively low figure count to play them. Warmest Regards, Dean

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  23. Great looking game Dean! It's hard to beat the sight of colourful WOR period figures.
    Best wishes,
    Jason

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Jason. Warm regards, Dean

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  24. Nice looming battle and enjoyable report!

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    1. Thank you kindly! Happy to hear you approve of the game - it was as nice as I had wanted it to be. Regards, Dean

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  25. Very nice report and another great batch of pics!

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    1. Thanks, Jason. Appreciate the visit and kind words. Regards, Dean

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  26. Great report !!! I myself think again to win 1 st St. Albans! We played Saint. Albans in 2009! :) Even filmed the "film", it is true, in Russian, but in principle it is clear ... Yorkists lost ...
    https://youtu.be/r2ECcY-Pjoo

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