Battle Report: A Burning Question

Near Al-Khalasa, 1160

Sir James was a worried man, not only was his somewhat... challenging... companion Urlich with him, but now they had been joined by the current favourite of the Order's leaders, Brother Karl the Flaggelist, a man known for his unrestrained brutality in the face of his enemies, and an almost ghoulish relish for battle and blood. "Sir James" Brother Karl's voice intruded into his thoughts "the village lies not far ahead." Around them marched their raiding force, their orders simple. The village of Al-Khalasa had to burn. "We will form into line behind this ridge, then advance upon them." Sir James said. "God will bring us victory this day."

The village of Al-Khalasa before the storm descends upon it

The Templar raiders for this game consisted of:

1 unit of Mounted Men at Arms (Templar Knights)

1 unit of Mounted Sergeants (Templar Sergeants)

1 unit of Foot Sergeants with Expert upgrade (Templar Foot Sergeants)

1 unit of Foot Sergeants (Templar Foot Sergeants)

1 unit of Crossbowmen (Templar Crossbowmen)

The Saracen defenders fielded:

2 units of Mounted Sergeants with Mounted Missiles (Mamluks)

1 unit of Foot Yeomen with Expert upgrade (Swordsmen)

2 units of Foot Yeomen (Spearmen)

1 unit of Archers (Archers, deployed in the village at the start of the game)

We used the Lion Rampant rules for this game, with one House Rule modification, namely that when a unit fails it's order roll, rather than ending the turn for that side, the opposing side can instead choose another unit which then cannot be activated that turn. This came about after a couple of games where multiple 5+ roll failures effectively decided the game (see here for an example). As it turned out, the 5+ curse continued in this game. The scenario was Sausages with Mustard, with the four buildings of the village as the objectives.

The figures used were Fireforge Games for the Templars, Gripping Beast Plastics for the Saracens. 

The Game:

The Templars deployed with their knights on their left, the foot sergeants facing the village in the centre, with the Mounted Sergeants on their right, while the crossbowmen were deployed to move into olive grove for cover. In their first turn, the Templars boldly seized the initiative and failed three command rolls, all at 5+, and stood, staring at their target. The Saracen players were highly amused.

The Templars stall in their first turn.

The Saracen relief force meanwhile was motivated enough to move their entire force, while the archers in the town awaited a target. 

Help moves towards the threatened village

Templar fortunes improved in the second turn, although their mounted forces remained halted, the infantry began to advance. 

The infantry advance, the cavalry wait.

Whatever had affected the Templar horses was clearly widespread as the Mamluks were also left unable to move, while their infantry began to arrive at the town. 

Saracen infantry move into the town to defend it.

Clearly sloth was an issue in the Templar ranks, as the next turn saw only the hand-weapon armed Foot Sergeants moving. 

The Saracen bowmen ready themselves to shoot at the encroaching enemy

Not to be outdone, the Saracens then failed to move at all for a turn, before the next turn saw the Templar spearmen moving closer to their target.

The advance continues to be a crawl

While their reinforcements continued to move up, the archers in the village managed to take out one of the Templar foot sergeants, drawing first blood. 

The first Templar sergeant falls

Finally, after several turns of lethargy, the mounted Templar sergeants moved forward, while the crossbowmen entered the olive grove. The hand weapon armed foot sergeants moved around the north side of the village. The Knights and spearmen remained stuck where they were.

Finally the mounted arm of the Templars (partially) moves

The Saracens continued to rush into the village, while the archers targeted the mounted Sergeants, taking one down.

The relief force arrives

Arrows take down a mounted sergeant

The Templar spearmen and Mounted Sergeants pushed towards the village, not quite reaching the buildings that were their targets, but getting close enough to threaten the archers with a charge.

Templars arrive at the village

Facing the oncoming spearmen, the Saracen archers promptly failed to move back, leaving themselves dangerously exposed.

In a dangerous situation, the Saracen archers fail to make their escape

The relief force pushed forwards, getting into position to threaten the invaders.

The two forces close each other down.

The Templars once again excelled themselves in order rolls, while the hand weapon armed sergeants advanced, and, to the shock of all, the Knights moved, the Mounted sergeants failed to move to the buildings, the spearmen failed to charge the archers. 

The foot sergeants close on their enemies

The Knights move finally

Finally able to get into the action, the Templar crossbowmen loosed a volley at the Saracen spearmen ahead of them, inflicting heavy losses, although the unit remained un-battered.

Templar crossbow bolts find their marks

The Templar foot sergeants faced a charge by the Saracen spearmen ahead of them, both sides losing a man in the fighting, but the Templars failing their courage test, leaving them vulnerable with the Mamluks moving up onto their flank. 

The sergeants find themselves in a difficult position

The archers meanwhile regained their senses and moved back into the village, out of charge range of the spearmen. 

The Templar sergeants rallied from their shock, while the Knights managed to creep a bit closer to their targets. The spearmen advanced into the alley vacated by the archers, contacting two of the target buildings, while the Mounted sergeants also advanced to a position where they could bring fire to their foes.

The Templars set themselves up to torch the nearest half of the village.

While the Saracen right flank was paralysed and unable to hit the Foot Sergeants, the rest of the relief force pushed into the village, and the archers took one of the Templars down. 

The spearmen find their advance blocked, and arrows take one of their number down.

In their next turn, the Templars managed to set both buildings they were in contact with on fire, and their crossbowmen killed two more Saracen spearmen, leaving the unit battered. The Knights also charged the Mamluk unit threatening the Templar left flank, driving them back and killing one of them in the process.

Templars bring fire to the village

The Mamluk unit attacked the Foot Sergeants in their turn, being driven back after both units lost a man. 

Mamluks fail to smash the outflanked sergeants, but do bring them down to half strength

Their first target ablaze, the mounted sergeants moved around the last surviving spearmen on the Templar right, while the spearmen in the centre charged and drove back the archers, killing two for the loss of one of their own. The remaining foot sergeants on the Templar left fell back to safety.

The Templar spearmen push further into the village.

The Mamluks, facing the prospect of a charge by the Knights in their next turn, stormed into them in an attempt to take some down with them, but were cut down to a man for no loss to the Templars. On the Saracen left, the last of the spearmen choose to flee rather than face another crossbow volley. 

The Mamluks are destroyed by the knights

Templar forces continued to close in on the village, with the Knights smashing into the spearman unit, the Mounted Sergeants charging the remaining Mamluk unit, but the spearman failed to act.

The Knights hammer the spearmen

The Mamluks are hit by the Mounted Sergeants

Both units drove back their opponents, inflicting some losses while suffering none in return. 

The Saracen swordsmen stormed into the Templar spearmen in the village, inflicting heavy losses and battering the unit, but taking some losses themselves, while the archers shot down another mounted sergeant before the Mamluks charged into them and pushed them back, killing another in the process.

The Templar mounted sergeants are hit in a charge and driven back

Shattered by the repeated charges and volleys, the last surviving Templar spearmen fled from the village, while the Templar Knights stormed into and destroyed the remaining Saracen spearmen.

The Knights charge

The spearmen die

The final Mounted Sergeant fled from the Mamluks, hugging the walls to stay out of sight of the Saracen archers.

In retaliation, the Saracen archers shot at the Templar Knights without effect while the Mamluks failed to catch the fleeing Mounted Sergeant. 

The remaining sergeant feels a sudden surge of motivation to ride quickly

In the final turns, the Templar crossbowmen took apart the Mamluks in a pair of volleys, while the Knights smashed apart the swordsmen, losing a man in the process, while the archers took to the hills, realising the day was lost. 

The Knights shatter the forces in the village itself.

The Saracen leader is struck down

The game ended in an emphatic Templar victory, although one paid for with the lives of fifteen of their Sergeants and a Knight. Both side's players had a good time, more importantly, and I expect we'll see more action in Outremer in the future. 

Sir James surveyed the burning village, the pillars of black smoke rising from it cutting across the red sky of twilight. "A heavy price paid." he said to no-one in particular. 

"But a good day's work." Ulrich said from his side, his words slow as he struggled with the unfamiliar tongue and tried to control his thick accent. 

Perhaps he was right, maybe the price was fair, but Sir James couldn't help but feel for the wounded and the dead. "Let us return home." he said, turning his horse away from the village.

Outremer Campaign: Battle Report: Game 2: Capture the Flag

Game 2: Rashid al-Harith vs Abdul Hameed el-Farah

Rashid looked up from his meal as a shadow fell across him to see his brother Bashhar standing at the entrance to his tent, a mischievous smirk on his face. "We just found a man, badly wounded. He says he is the survivor of a merchant caravan that has been attacked a short way from here."

"The lawlessness grows worse." Rashid growled. "Where is this man?" 

"He died of his wounds shortly after we spoke." Bashhar's grin faded briefly "A bad way to go. But he did tell us where the merchant's camp was, and that the raiders had been driven off. The goods should still be there." Rashid knew they desperately needed funds.

"Get everyone ready, we move as soon as we are able." 

In this game, two groups of Saracens found out about the abandoned camp of a merchant caravan, with the goods intact, and arrived to try and seize it. 

The merchant's camp, abandoned by the few survivors of the bandit raid.

Apologies in advance for the lack of photos in this report, I completely forgot to take any up until the second turn, in what turned out to be another very brief game. 

In the merchant's camp itself, Abdul Hameed el-Farah and his Mamluk Recruit Arshad el-Sader advanced into range to contest the objective, dodging the occasional bowshot from Sa'id al-Mansur, while the rest of the their warband faced advanced on the far side of the wadi, running into the rest of Rashid's warband. 

In the flurry of exchanged shots, Khalid ibn Masruq of Rashid's warband took a wound, while Munjid al-Zaher and Aaish el-Sylla were felled, at which point Adbul conceded the field and withdrew. 

Aaish el-Sylla takes an arrow in the arm and falls. 

Munjid al-Zaher also falls in the face of the bulk of Rashid's warband

In the post game tidy up, Aaish el-Sylla was found to have a crippling arm wound, and was ejected from the warband. 

Outremer Campaign: Battle Report: Game 1: Camp Assault

Game 1: Camp Assault, Sir James the Second vs Beowulf the Powerful

Sir James was furious, something his father had always warned him against. "An angry man can be fooled, cannot make a wise decision and will get his followers killed." he had said repeatedly, often in the face of the gravest provocations. But it was a hard mantra to follow. 

He drew in a breath, glad his helmet covered his face so none of the men around him could see his consternation. The tracks of the grave robbers, who had plundered the tomb of a slain Templar Knight, lay ahead of him. He would catch them, and retrieve what had been stolen. 

This game had a Templar force raiding the camp of a Crusader force, with four objectives (the piles of goods and chest around the central campfire in the picture below). 

The Templars approach the camp

The game itself was fairly brief. One of the crusader warriors, Llewelyn, spent the game advancing on Lorencio, who had taken cover beyond a field behind it's wall. Despite repeated shots at the advancing warrior, Lorencio failed to take down his target. 

Lorencio faces down Llewelyn while the action rages nearer the camp

Around the camp itself, Ulrich the Mad charged into Beowulf the Powerful, their melee lasting most of the game until Ulrich managed to take down the dismounted knight, despite several close calls that nearly saw his horse killed under him. Meanwhile, Sir James cut his way through Bedwyr and Turi in quick succession, shrugging off their missiles as he moved into range.

Templar knights tear into the camp's defenders

At the end of the third turn, the Crusaders withdrew, leaving the Templars to loot the camp, claiming all the objectives. 

Sir James was pleased with how his warband had performed, the enemy hadn't harmed one among them, and had paid for their crimes in pain and blood. Ulrich was gradually calming down a short distance off, while Lorencio was gathering up the supplies and loot in the enemy's camp. 

The Templars smash their way into the enemy camp, forcing their enemy to flee.

Picture Dump:

Ulrich the Mad and Beowulf the Powerful face off

Geoffrey leaves Lorencio to deal with Llewelyn, sensing a chance to loot an objective

Sir James' first victory of the day.

Outremer Warband: Rashid al-Harith

Warband Leader: Rashid al-Harith

Rashid organised this band after discovering that the increasing marginalisation of Sunnis in Cairo was driving his family's always marginal finances into decline. He is a skilled warrior and a calculating tactician, driven by plans and not passion.

Traits:

Slippery
Hard to Kill
Expert Bowman

Arif: Bashhar al-Harith

Fiery and passionate, Bashhar is Rashid's brother and the youngest of the band. Driven by a combination of regigious fervour nd a desire for action it was his initial idea to leave Cairo and join the defense against the infidels. The rest of the group are Rashid's friends, not Bashhar's, and tend to condescend to him a little.

Traits:

Climber
Agile
Hit and Run

Arif: Khalid ibn Masruq

Keener on study than on warfare, Khalid had hoped to become an imam, but his family could not afford to send him to one of the madrasa that teach those of elevated birth. He still reads from the Koran often, though he is more interested in the theological and logical aspects of the faith than in teaching or in fighting a holy war.

Traits:

Hard to Kill
Faithful
All around awareness

Arif: Sa'id al-Mansur

Sa'id is a quiet figure, always keen on hunting and who often suplemented his family's income in this fashion, though custom dictated everyone act as if he was only hunting for sport. He speaks little and often finds excuses to be apart from the group, whether scouting for enemies or foraging for food

Traits:

Loner
Resilient
Sniper

Arif: Abu Hassan al-Nisawi

When the group purchases supplies it is always Abu who does the haggling, not because of his fast talk (he says little and often that in a whisper) but because of his tenacious nature, attention to detail and a piercing stare that unsettles merchants and enemies alike. Abu's family has teetered on the edge of penury for as long as he has lived, and he has learned to never pass up an opportunity

Traits:

Take Cover
Solid Reputation
Increased Javelin Capacity

Arif: Hamid al-Madini

A towering, burly figure, Hamid is loud, outspoken and often uncouth. He is also almost irritatingly gregarious - though the lone Shia in a band of Sunnis he never lets religious differences or anything else come between him or his friends, and he will proclaim that loudly and repeatedly at any opportunity.

Traits:

Among Friends
Hard to Kill
Corrective Shooting