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By: Alex Buche! Development: Alex Buchel with Mike Hobbs Written by: Alex Buchel, Mike Hobbs and Andy Sherwell Intra written by: Andrew Sherwell Graphic Design: Fred Machu Pictures: Fred Machu and Wyn Rogers Th e artwork used for the cover is © Christos Giannopoulos Special thanks to: Pierrick Floc'h, Jasper Orrthuys, Dirk van Gorp , Wayne Richards and Steve at Little Big M en Studios and all our Inner Sanctum brothers in arms. Figures used in this book are produced by Gripping Beast and painted by Darren Harding, Fred Machu, Alex Buchel, Dave Woodward, Mystic Spirals, Chris Stone, Tim Dagnall and Wyn Rogers. .
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Check our updates on our website: www.studio-tomahawk.com and join the Saga community at http://studiotomahawk.freeforums.org/ Northern Fury is published by Gripping Beast under license from Studio Tomahawk SARL, 11 Nouvelle Cite, 67380 Lingolsheim. Saga, Skirmishes in the Dark Ages and Northern Fury are © by Alex Buchel and Studio Tomahawk. ISBN : 978-2-9538053-2-1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or any means w ithout the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in February 2012 by l'lmprimerie Gantier (59582 MARLY) © Studio Tomahawk 2012
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Welcome to Northern Fury, the first supplement for the SAGA rules system. In this book you will find details of four new factions for your SAGA games: the Bretons, the Jomsvikings, the Scots and the Anglo-Saxons. Along with a description of each faction, there are all the rules you need to muster yourself a warband (including new Heroes,) plus of course a brand new Battleboard for each faction.
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Each of these new factions presents new and interesting challenges, both to command and to face across the table: The Bretons - These warriors fought on horseback using javelins and hit and run tactics to disrupt their enemies before dealing that killer blow The Jomsvikings - Pagan warriors whose wrath and ferocity was legendary, historians still argue about their existence, but now you can field them in your games The Scots- Descendants of the Irish migrants established on the western coasts of Caledonia, the Scots whose spears invited death to all who came near The Anglo-Saxons - Sons of JEifred the Great, they were known for courage and tenacity in battle, the Vikings feared them and rightly so. As with everything in SAGA, each of these factions has been extensively play-tested against one another and against the original four factions in the rule-book to ensure that every game will be balanced and challenging. At this point we'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone in the play-test groups, their feedback and support has been instrumental in shaping the book you're reading now. Thanks chaps. In Northern Fury you will also find a new multi-player scenario, Wooden Oaths. Multi-player SAGA games are great for club-nights and bring their own set of challenges and rewards and this scenario is a great way to start if you've never tried multi-player games before1• We hope you get as much fun using Northern Fury as we have had in putting it together.
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1 Wooden
Oaths is a particular favourite at Beast Towers as it offers great scope for back-
stabbing and winding up LordS!
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The Anglo-Saxons dominated England (which they also called Middangeard, the Middle-Earth) between the 7th and 11th centuries. The faction described below covers the period of the seven kingdoms of the Heptarchy (which started sometime during the early 6th century) until the conquest of England by Sven Forkbeard and the establishment of the Anglo-Danish dynasty (as covered in the Saga rulebook)
Finally, the serfs, or Geburs might be some-what reluctant ly cal led for. Having a minimum of training, they fought without much enthusiasm, but could hold their place in the shieldwall, or be used as hunters or scouts if equipped w ith a sling or a bow. They are obviously the Levies of your warband.
This period saw the English defend themselves against Welsh, Scots and particularly the Vikings, both raiders and the fledgling Viking kingdom of Jorvik centred around Yo rk. It is the period of JEifred the Great and eventually saw t he birth of England as a united nation.
lFA(C1l'J[ (QYN lRJU[JLJE§
Your Warlord is probably one of t he nobles of the kingdoms t hat supported the Anglo-Saxon kings or t he Bretwalda. He is able to call out the Fyrd, the trained militia that was mustered in times of danger.
Some Anglo-Saxon units may be fielded mounted. M ou nted units are subject to the f o llowing special ru les:
- The Movement of mount ed unit s is increased to JL but reduced to § when moving from, through, o r into uneven ground. - Mounted units may never enter a building but they can engage in melee any unit occupying a building in t he normal manner.
Usually, high-ranking nobles such as your Warlord would have at their disposal a personal bodyguard, which were inspired by the ancient Comitatus of the German tribes. They could be other highranking noblemen (Ealdormen,) or lesser nobles (Thegns) as well as retained mercenaries (if your Warlord is rich enough!) These soldiers, well t rained and well equipped would give their life f or their lord, and are the Hearthguards of your warband.
- The Armour of mounted unit s is red uced by one w hen t hey are the target of a Shooting attack.
The rural workers were expect ed to answer t he call of t heir lords. These peasants, richer than m ost of t heir fellows were known as Ceorls, and could afford to come to war with proper equipment such as helmets or even som e pieces of body armour. They trained regularly and as such they are t he core of your warband, and are its Warriors.
Apart from the restrictions mentioned above, m ounted unit s behave like ordi nary unit s. If a unit st arts the game m ounted, it must remain mounted for t he w ho le game and may never dism ount.
- Mounted units m ay never benefit f rom any kind of cover, in m elee or shooting .
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Anglo-Saxon Warlords and Hearthguards may be mounted. Anglo-Saxon Warriors have no special rules. Anglo-Saxon Levies may be equipped w ith ranged weapons, either slings or bows. If they are not eq uipped with ranged weapons, they are considered to carry shields and spears. In that case, they have an Armour of 4 and generate in melee one Attack Die per two figures (instead of one Attack Die per three figures for other Levies).
JH[ JE JR.JQ) lE§ (Q) JF 1rJH[ JE V J[ lK.J[ N (Gr A (Gr JE JEifred the Great, first King of the Anglo-Saxons JE/fred reigned during the second half of the 9th century, and was one of the sons of Athelwulf, the king of Wessex. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he was educated, had a good knowledge of the Holy Writings and spoke Latin. Many related this quest for knowledge and spirituality to his poor health and physical afflictions that plagued him during his lifetime. In these times, Wessex -as were most of the English kingdomswas fighting the Norse invaders and when Danegeld was not paid, blood spilled and the land was ravaged. When his brother Ethelred died in 871, Alfred was made King of England by the Witenagemot. During his reign, he would restore the former boundaries of the English kingdoms in the south, pushing back the Danes. He was also a reformist, modernizing the military and administrative systems that governed England. He developed a navy for England, reorganised the Fyrd so that the country was not brought to a standstill in times of war and fortified the kingdom to defend it against invaders. JEifred the Great died in 897, peacefully having accomplished what no other English king of the Heptarchy had achieved: unifying the patchwork of kingdoms into a powerful nation. Hero of the Viking Age: As the King that unified the AngloSaxons, JE/fred generates three SAGA dice at the start of each turn, and not two as other Warlords. A warband led by JE/fred can at the start of each of its Orders Phase roll up to 8 SAGA dice, and is not limited to six dice as other warbands. Poor health: JE/fred is burdened by an illness that remains unknown and explains his declining health. He only generates two Attack Dice in melee and does not benefit from the "Resilience" special rule. But he is also not subject to the "Warlord's Pride" special rule. Wisdom & Ruse: These qualities explain the successes of JE/fred against the Norse. Once per turn, as long as JEifred is on the table, when you have used one of your SAGA abilities, do not discard the die (or dice) that paid for it. The die (or dice) remain on the ability box and can be used later. Note however that if that ability is one of the abilities that may only be-used once per turn, you can't use it a second time in the same turn (but it can be used during your opponent's turn).
In addition any Warband facing JE/fred (as long as he is on t he table) must roll a D6 at the same time as it rolls its SAGA dice. If the number rolled with this die is less than the number of SAGA dice the warband rolled this turn, one of the SAGA dice rolled must be discarded without effect. The die to be discarded is chosen by the player that rolled the SAGA dice. ~-
Athelstan, King of the Anglo-Saxon, Emperor of the Northumbrians, ruler of the Pagans and Guardian of the Britons Athelstan was t he grandson of JE/fred the Great. The history books often forget his name, and his memory has faded away, but in his own times, he was perceived as the greatest king England ever had, standing above his grandfather. He became king in 925 and started a process of unification of the kingdom and of conquests of the neighbouring rivals building on the successes of his grandfather. He started with a successful invasion of the Norse controlled territories of Northumbria, before subjugating the Welsh and marching to the North against the Scots who speedily recognised his authority as soon as his massive army crossed the frontier. In the peaceful years of his reign, he concentrated on the administration of his large kingdom, establishing coinage laws, reorganising rural life and establishing mutually profitable relationship with the continental kingdoms.
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But his most important military success was achieved in 937 when at Brunanburh he shattered an improbable coalition of Scots, Norse and Welsh in what became the biggest battle of the dark ages. Victorious, his power was consolidated and he could enjoy a prosperous end to his reign . He died of sickness after having ruled for fourteen years and as the Annals of Ulster say: "Athelstan king of the English died the roof tree of honour of the western world".
Hero of the Viking Age: As the greatest king of England, Athelstan generates three SAGA dice at the start of each turn, and not two as other Warlords. In addition at the start of each turn, after the SAGA dice have been rolled, as long as Athe/stan is on the table, the player may decide to re-roll ALL the SAGA Dice rolled this turn. Athe/stan could not have survived and achieved so much without wisdom and caution. He is not subject to the "Warlord's Pride" special rule. The Great Army: Athelstan had a massive army under his command, and it is likely that skilful commanders assisted him. During the deployment, a single unit of Hearthguard of up to 4 models may be split between the units of Warriors and Levies of the warband, with up to one Hearthguard joining each Warrior or Levies unit. This may bring the number of models in that unit to 13 and this constitutes an exception to the standard ru les.
The Hearthguard's armour is reduced to the Armour of the unit he joins, and he does not benefit from any of the ranged weapons that the unit may have (but he does generate his melee Attack Dice as normal). If the unit is mounted, the Hearthguard may be mounted as well. Within the unit, the Hearthguard is always the last model to be removed. You cannot remove a Hearthguard until all other models have been removed. If this is not possible without breaking the unit coherency, exchange the Commander with another of the models of the unit before removing casualties so and so maintain unit formation. A Warrior or Levy unit with a Hearthguard Commander is considered a Hearthguard unit for the sake of Activations. It will be activated using the Hearthguards activation ability, and not with its former class activation ability. Otherwise, it is still considered as a normal unit of its class. Emperor of Britain: At the end of his reign, many kingdoms kneeled before the King of the Anglo-Saxons and he could draw
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on their manpower when needed. Any Warrior or Hearthguard unit in Athelstan's warband may choose one of the following upgrades (each upgrade may only be chosen once in each warband) : - Have do uble handed weapons as Norse Pagan subject s - Have javelins as Welsh subjects •
- Be mounted and have javelins as Strathclyde Welsh - Have bows as continental mercenaries
Truce Used during your Orders Phase A good ability when the game reaches a point w hen the fight has drained both warbands. You disca rd the die during the Orders Phase w ithout any immediate effects. At the end of your turn, when you have finished your Activation Phase, any unit that has not been activated this turn discards a FA TIGUE (two FATIGUES if made of at least 10 models). Quite useless for a single unit, but once you have two or three units with FATIGUES and no immediate plans for them, this ability will shine!
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Defenders of the Realm Below you will find a description of the various abilities available to the Anglo-Saxon player. We will not deal with the first column of abilities as they are similar to the ones used in Saga: the first three are intended to activate the different classes of models of an Anglo-Saxon warband, while the last one is the Combat Pool. The Anglo-Saxons don't have any Activation Pool - it is replaced by "The Muster" described below. •
Used during step 3) of any Melee This is a basic but very useful good combat ability. For the cost of discarding a single die, you gain two dice (Attack or Defence, or a mix of both). Good, but not brilliant. But if your unit is made of at least 10 models you get two extra dice, for a total of 4 dice (Attack or Defence or a mix of both). And all for the price of a single Saga die! Of course, these dice are kept even if your unit is reduced to less than 10 models later in that combat.
The Muster Used during your Activation Phase Instead of the Activation Pool, the Anglo-Saxons have a fourth Activation ability that may activate any one unit as long as it is made of 10 or more models. The class of the unit is irrelevant, only the total number of figures (when the ability is used) is considered. A really useful ability as it allows large Levy units to be activated as easily as Hearthguards.
This ability is similar to the Anglo-Danish "Shieldwall" with the added bonus that if your unit is made of at least 10 models, you gain 2 Defence Dice. The two bonuses when added together should reduce significantly your casualties in melee!
Stout Hearts
Bretwalda
Used during your Orders Phase or during the enemy's
Used during step 2) of any melee
Orders Phase Most Anglo-Saxons abilities have effects that depend on the 10-models strong threshold, or have variable effects determined by the number of models in the targeted unit. Usually, a wellcomposed Anglo-Saxon warband will start with most units being made of 10 models or more, but as the game progresses, this number tends to decrease. Stout Hearts is a convenient way of keeping these bonuses for some units once t he number of models has diminished.
By discarding a single die, for the who le turn, the number of models of the target units are considered to be the actual number •
Shoulder to Shoulder Used during step 2) of an enemy Shooting or during step
of models +2 ( +4 if the discarded die was a helmet). This will only impact the determination of the Saga abilities (your abilities and the enemy abilities) and won't give you any additional attack dice or victory points (for the control of objectives for example). Basically, it will allow your 8 models strong units to count as 10 models strong units, or gain additional benefits with the use of abilities like "Clash of Shields" or even reduce the effectiveness of enemy abilities like t he Welsh "Strength lies in numbers" or even the dreaded Viking " Loki".
3) of any melee
This is a strong defensive ability that has saved the life of many Anglo-Saxon warlords! By discarding the die, you increase the Armour of your Warlord by one and he will be able to re-ro/1 any Defence die that fails to cancel a hit. Unless facing an insane amount of Attack Dice, this ability should guarantee the survival of your Warlord.
The Fyrd Used during your Orders Phase Yo u will have spotted that the Anglo-Saxo ns lack t he t raditional Activation Pool. This ability replaces it and depending on t he point of view, is a much bett er trade. You discard your helmet and immediately roll a number of extra Saga Dice equal to the number of units made of at least 10 models you have on the table. As in a 6-points game it is quite easy to field 4 of these units, with a single helmet you will have a net gain of 3 Saga Dice! It means that even if your warband due to a limited amount of units only generated 5 Saga Dice at the start of your turn, you still have around 6o% of chance to get the helmet that w ill produce 3-4 extra Saga Dice! Think of it when mustering your Anglo-Saxon warband.
No Surrender Used during your Activation Phase "No Surrender" can be a decisive ability if used at the right time. With a cost of two helmets, it is an expensive one, but when the dice are discarded it activates ALL your units made of 10 models or more and each of these units immediately discards one FATIGUE. What also makes this ability especially useful is that these abilities do not generate FA TIGUE, even if it was the second or consecutive activation of this turn (if engaging melee, they would still take FATIGUE as the FA TIGUE would be taken from the melee and not the activation).
Clash of Shields Used during step 3)
of any melee
Overlap Shields Used during step 2) of the resolution of the enemy's
Shooting
This Saga ability will make your large unit almost invulnerable to a single volley of missiles. By discarding t his die, you gain a number of Defence Dice equal to a third of the number of models in your unit. Most of the time you will be able to roll 2 Defence Dice per hit taken, meaning that most if not all hits will easily be cancelled. A good ability against the murderous shooting of Normans and their crossbowmen, Bretons and their various shooting abilities or the Welsh and their "Deadly Strike"!
Saxon Kingdom Used during your Orders Orders Phase
Phase or the enemy's
A dreadful ability, and we have seen some Anglo-Saxons warbands built around this one. As soon as these dice are discarded, all your Levies units are now considered as Warriors. What does it mean? Your Levies will have an Armour of 4 (even spear-armed Levies, meaning that their Armour value won't change), will generate one Attack Die per figure, will be activated like Warriors, will have an increased exhaustion threshold and will be able to sacrifice themselves to save the life of their Warlord by the use of his "Resilience" rule. What won't change is as the Saga Dice have already been generated this turn, the fact that they benefit from a temporary upgrade will not add any Saga Die to your pool. (We do not go backward in the turn sequence). Once an opponent has tasted t he Saxon Kingdom, be guaranteed t hat he will look at your Levies differen t ly!
Th is is another pure combat ability. It might appear at first sight pricey, w it h a cost of two dice, but can be devastating if used on large unit s (and keep in mind that all fractions in Saga are rounded up). A mundane 10 models strong unit would gain 4 Attack Dice, and a 12-models strong unit with "Stout Hearts" (if t hat ability w as used with a helmet) would gain 6 Attack Dice!
Ragnar speaks...
Any warlord who likes to lead hordes of his fellows w ill love the AngloSaxons! They draw strength from their numbers, and as early as mustering the warband, their warlord should keep that in mind. This faction definitely needs to field large units, and needs to have at least 2 or 3 of these 10 models strong units to take advantage of the various abilities of their battleboard. Unlike the Anglo-Danes, the Anglo-Saxons must act quickly, as they cannot sustain a war of attrition that would fatally reduce their numbers below this 10 model threshold. A determined attack with the objective to overwh elm the opposite warband is the key to victory. L-" "
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The Bretons fought the Franks, the Saxons, the Carolingians, the Vikings and the Normans, using the tactics inherited from their British ancestors who crossed the Channel to seek shelter from the invading Jutes and Angles; tactics that focussed on mounted combat, and an intensive use of enemy harassment with javelinarmed mounted fighters. The 10th century witnessed a bloody campaign against the Norse who had settled at the mouth of the Loire River and used the settlements as bases for their raids and invasions. During this time emerged great Breton leaders such as Alain Barbetorte who expelled the Vikings from Breton land. In the 11th century the enemy was the Normans, who forced the Bretons to join the expedition of their duke, William, against the English. Brittany was first a Kingdom then a Duchy. Nobles, Counts and Barons assisted the regent of Brittany. Your Warlord is certainly one of these first rank characters. The heart of the Breton nobility, named Machtierns, traditionally fought mounted with extensive use of javelins and feigned flight tactics. At the beginning of the 11th century, the influence of the Normans progressively changed this approach, and the Bretons shifted to more offensive behaviour, eventually adopting the Norman couched lance. These nobles are the Hearthguards of your force. The Bretons soldiers that came from the prolific low-ranked nobility usually fought mounted as well, armed with javelins and darts, which they used with unrivalled skill. When they had to fight dismounted, their equipment was usually restricted to a spear and a shield. They are the Warriors of your warband.
Finally, mustered in the fighting force we find the commoners of Brittany. These Levies fought also with javelins, as bows and slings were not popular. In the later middle-ages, they would become famous as Bidets.
lFA(C1fl[ (QfN lRUU[ lLlE§ Most Breton units may be fielded mounted. Mounted units are subject to the following special rules:
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- The Movement of mounted units is increased to JL but reduced to § when moving from, through, or into uneven ground. - Mounted units may never enter a building but they can engage in melee any unit occupying a building in the normal manner. -The Armour of mounted units is reduced by one when t hey are the target of a Shooting attack. - Mounted units may never benefit from any kind of cover, in melee or shooting. -'·
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Apart from t he restrictions mentioned above, mounted units behave like ordinary units. If a unit starts the game m ounted, it must remain mounted for the whole game and may never dismount. The Breton Warlord is mounted and equipped with javelins. Breton Hearthguards are mounted and equipped with javelins. Reluctant to fight in close combat, they only have an Armour of 4 in melee (and an Armour of 4 against shooting due to being mounted). Breton Warriors may be mounted. When mounted, they have javelins. In melee the Armour of the mounted Warriors is reduced to 3 for the same reasons as highlighted above. Breton Levies are armed with javelins.
Below are the two Breton characters that are their Heroes of the Viking Age. For more details about Heroes of the Viking Age, please refer to page 45 of the Saga rulebook.
Morvan Lez Breizh, The Supporter of Britanny Morvan ruled the Vannerais, the Domnonee and the Leion, when (as the foremost Breton leader) he received the visit of an envoy of the Emperor Louis the Debonnaire who asked for the submission of Britanny to the empire. The reaction of the fierce and proud Breton was swift: "Go back to your lord promptly and repeat to him my words. I do not walk on his lands, and won't obey his law. He can rule the Franks, I admit. But Morvan can rule over the Bretons without paying tribute. If the Franks want war, we will fight back; we have strong arms, and know how to use them". This harsh answer would lead the cautious Emperor to send a military force against Britanny in 818. This campaign ended as a disaster when Morvan who rallied the main Breton leaders and crushed the imperial army with guerilla tactics. A second invasion was planned and launched some years later and this one reached the stronghold of Bretons' leading general. There, although a duel between the Frankish chieftain Case/ and Morvan ended in the death of both parties, the now leaderless Bretons had to accept the rule of the Carolingians. But this domination was short-lived as less than five years later the fierce and independent Bretons revolted. Hero of the Viking Age: Morvan was king of Brittany. He generates three Saga Dice at the start of each turn, and not two as other warlords. He may fight dismounted, and keeps his javelins if fighting on foot. Supporter of Britanny: Morvan led trained and hardened troops that gave no quarter to the Franks that were fool enough to fight them. Any foot Warrior unit in Morvan's warband is equipped with javelins without any penalty and is considered as mounted for the sake of the Breton Saga abilities. Hearthguards may be dismounted, and are equipped with javelins in that case, but still count as mounted for the sake of the Breton Saga abilities. The Mighty Arm of A Thousand Darts: The legend says that Morvan went to war with a chariot carrying a thousand javelins. To represent this, when shooting, Morvan generates 5 Attack Dice and not two as other Warlords.
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Breizh: Morvan knew the landscape like no other. After the set up of terrain is finished, Morvan may select up to two terrain pieces that have been chosen and placed by any player (i.e. not any terrain that appears in the scenario set-up) and either remove it from the table or move it up toM in any direction.
Alain Barbetorte, the Bane of the Normans Alain, son of Mathedoi" of Poder was born in the 10th century when Brittany was suffering from incessant Viking invasions and conquests that led the ruling family to seek shelter with the Anglo-Saxons. His father took him over the Channel, seeking refuge with Athe/stan, King of the English. This later supported and helped Alain when he went back to his kingdom. At this time the Breton was known as Al-louan (the fox). In the meantime, the Vikings had settled and were known as the Normans, and were imposing their cruel laws in western Francia. At the battle of Plouviro Alain defeated the Normans and started the reconquest of the Breton strongholds. He was made Brittonum Dux, King of Brittany after his victory at Nantes and at his death in 952, Brittany was free of the Normans, although this didn't last long. Hero of the Viking Age: Barbetorte is a Hero of the Viking Age and is subject to the relevant rules on page 45 of Saga. Note that he only generates two Saga Dice like any other Warlord. Breton Knights: Morvan Barbetorte trained his best knights in the tactics used by the Normans. All Heathguards in Barbetorte's warband lose their javelins but have an Armour of 5 in melee. The Miracle of Nantes: During the battle of Nantes, the Bretons were at the edge of defeat. As they regrouped thirsty and tired, Barbetorte implored the Virgin for Her help. A miracle happened when his companions found a spring nearby. Suitably invigorated they turned and crushed the Normans.
At the start of any Orders Phase, before the Saga Dice are rolled, Barbetorte may implore the Virgin (only if he is alive and on the table). Roll a die and if the die result is higher than the number of Saga Dice generated by your warband units (excluding Barbetorte himself) you will benefit from God's help for this turn. If you roll an equal or lower result than the number of Saga Dice your units generated no help is given but you can ask for God's help in a subsequent turn but each subsequent die roll to implore the Virgin will suffer a -1 penalty (these penalties are cumulative). The Miracle can only be obtained once per game and gives the following benefits: - Discard immediately all FATIGUES from your warband. - Roll 8 Saga Dice this Orders Phase - All your models have their Armour increased by one until the end of the turn. - Each unit will get a free activation this turn that does not consume any Saga die. -Until the end of your turn, all your Hearthguard and Warriors models generate an additional Attack Die in melee. - Until the end of the turn, all hits suffered in melee are cancelled on 3 or more, and not 5 or more as usual.
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Strong Rain (Giavenn) Used during Step 2) of your Shooting. Below you will find a description of the various abilities available to Breton players. We will not deal with the first column of abilities as they are similar to the ones used in Saga: the first three are intended to activate the different classes of models of a Breton warband, while the last two are the now usual Activation and Combat Pools. Please note that the Breton Combat Pool may only be used for and against Shooting and may never be used in melee.
Backward! (War Drenv!) Used during Step 3) of any Melee. This is a very good defensive ability for your mounted units. As the text explains, it cannot be used if you have any foot unit involved in the melee, restricting it to any melee where your mounted units are involved. When this ability is used, the melee ends immediately, without resolving any other steps, and your unit(s) immediately makes a disengagement movement. This is a normal disengagement movement and as in a normal melee if your unit cannot disengage, then the opposing side will have to disengage. Any enemy ability used prior to your use of Backward! that would have affected a later step is simply ignored, though the costs are not paid back, obviously. This ability combines particularly well with Fight! allowing your unit to shoot before ending the melee. Of course, that won't stop the enemy activating once again to engage you, but this movement is likely to produce FATIGUE and cost Saga dice.
Usually the target's FATIGUE cannot be used when shooting, but this ability creates an exception to this rule. By discarding this die and removing a FATIGUE from the target, you reduce its Armour by one.
Fight! (Argad!) Used during Step 3) of any Melee. This ability may cause some nasty surprises for your enemy. The dice are discarded when it is your turn to play some Saga abilities. You designate one of your units as the shooter, one of the enemy units as the target and resolve a complete shooting procedure from step 1) to step 5). This is a standard shooting, but it does not count as a shooting activation (your unit has not been activated to shoot so any ability reacting to shooting cannot be used). During this shooting you may use Saga abilities that affect shooting When the shooting is done, the step 3) continues.
Saint Kado (Sant Kado) Used during Step 2) of your Shooting. This is an ability that your opponents will hate. You discard the dice when using your Saga abilit ies, and after casualty removal, the targeted unit takes a number of FATIGUES equal to half the number of casualties it suffered from this shooting. Obviously, it goes well w ith any ability that boosts your shooting to ensure you inflict a lot of casualties!
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In All Directions (Dre-Holl) Used during the enemy Orders Phase If there was a life insurance for Bretons, it would be called In All Directions. Simply said, it allows your mounted units to move before the enemy starts its Activation Phase. During the enemy Orders Phase, you discard these dice, and it activates ALL of your mounted units. They can freely move but may not voluntarily end their movement within M of an enemy unit. By voluntarily we mean any move that is not dictated by an enemy ability. If this movement is made impossible (e.g. if your unit starts its movement within VS of an enemy unit that it would have to engage), it is simply cancelled.
Lady Mary (An lntron Varia) Used during Step 2) of your Shooting. This is a simple ability that will sh ine in some special circumstances or scenarios. It just cancels all benefits the target gains from its soft or hard cover. As an added bonus, the target will cancel the hits on ss rather than 4s, increasing slightly your chances to inflict casualties. Do not disregard it, as it might be a gamewinner in the Homeland scenario!
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The Shadow of Deatll (Skeud an Ankou) Used during Step 2) of your Shooting. Generally speaking, shooting can be largely ineffective against heavily armoured targets, such as Hearthguards or Warlords. This ability offers a solution to this problem. By discarding the required die you will reduce the enemy's Armour by two. But the cost is that you will have to discard half the Attack Dice your unit generates. Note that after using this ability, you can still add dice to your shooting, and this ability combines really well with a Attack! or (if the target has FATIGUE) Strong Rain.
The Devil's Dance (Dans an Diaoul!) Used during Step 2) of your enemies Shooting. This is an ability that will really upset your enemy and also give some protection to your units against shooting. Play this ability and any Attack Dice rolls of 5 or 6 made against you w ill be ignored
Attack! (War Raok!) Used during Step 2) of your Shooting. Attack! is a standard but effective Shooting ability. It gives you three or four Attack Dice, a good way to ensure that heavy casualties are inflicted on the enemy!
Britanny Forever (Breizh Atao) Used during Step 2) of your Shooting. Another ability that is quite simple in its use. The die is discarded and during step 3) of the shooting you may re-roll once any die that scores a 1 or a 2 (remember that you cannot reroll a reroll!). Really good against troops with a low Armour as it means a re-roll on every fail!
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Ragnar speaks...
If you thought that the Welsh were painful, you'll hate to face the Bretons! They combine the disgusting Welsh habit of throwing pointy sticks at any enemy that approaches with I! the vile mobility of the Normans. As their Battleboard shows, they are the faction with the most Shooting abilities, and all their efforts should be aimed at literally covering their opponents with a storm of javelins. Usually, they will focus on one unit at a time, eliminating it before moving to the next. They will struggle against a determined and unimpressed opponent who forces melee, but staying cold and focused when your pals die in droves is easier said than done!
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The Jomsvikings, or Vikings of Jomsborg, are mentioned in some Icelandic sagas and are at the heart of one of them, justly named the Jomsvikings Saga. They were a group of mercenaries based in the stronghold of Jomsborg (which as far as we know is located in modern Pomerania) and organised in a selective brotherhood. Any pretender to the rank of Jomsviking would have to pass a number of physical tests, with the last one being a ritualized challenge (holmgang) against another member of the brotherhood. A strict code ruled the life of Jomsborg and any member violating this code of conduct would have to be punished, and being sentenced to death was not unknown. During their existence, which lasted less than two centuries, the Jomsvikings took part in the endemic wars between the Scandinavian kingdoms, serving whoever paid most, and betraying their current employer if needed. If a code of honour ruled life in Jomsborg, it is clear that it never affected their relationship with the outside world! The Jomsvikings disappeared in the first half of the 11th century, when the King of Norway, Magnus the First decided to get rid of these annoying mercenaries and he crushed the brotherhood, burning their stronghold and slaughtering the inhabitants. Even if their existence is questioned by historians, the Jomsvikings left their mark in the Vikings Sagas, and could not be ignored when the opportunity came to include them in our game. Jomsborg was ruled by a Jarl. It seems by the sagas that strength and cunning was needed to achieve such a rank. This Jarl is the Warlord of your warband. The brotherhood was made of veteran fighters, the Jomsvikings, whose bravery and fighting skills were unrivalled. They swore to never retreat unless largely outnumbered. These men are the Hearthguards of your force.
Younger recruits were less experimented than their elders, though they could match most soldiers from other nations. These Dreng (young lads) are the Warriors of your warband. No Jomsvikings would ever fight alongside a serf or a slave. Hence, the Jomsvikings don't have any Levies.
WRATH Most Saga abilities at the disposal of the Jomsviking player depend on his level of WRATH. This level is indicated on the Battle board by a m arker on the scale at the top of t he board.
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This level starts at o and some abilities will make it increase. When a Saga ability allows you to increase your WRATH level, move the marker to the right by a number of circles equal to the increase. The WRATH level only decreases when a Saga ability says so and will never increase beyond 6 which is the maximum level. Some Saga abilities allow the opponent to choose between a given game effect and an increase of WRATH. If your WRATH has reached the highest level, your opponent may not choose to let you increase it further and must select the other option. In a multi-player game, when it comes to resolving such abilities, if they are Orders or Act ivation abil ities, the Jomsviking player gets to choose which opponent will have to make that choice. If using a Melee or Shooting abil ity, then the player involved in that melee or shooting has t he choice.
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JFA(C1['l[ (Q)N lRJUJLJE§ Any Jomsvikings units may be armed with double-handed Dane axes. They are subject to the following rules
-When engaged in melee, a unit with Dane axes will not use its shields and so suffers a -1 penalty to its Armour value. Hence, if the unit has an Armour of 5, it counts as having an Armour of 4· -Attack rolls made by a unit equipped with Dane axe gets a +1 bonus. To hit an Armour 4 unit, you'll only need 3s. This makes the enemy easier to hit in melee.
Jomsvikings Warlords, Hearthguards and Warriors may be armed with Dane axes.
Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson, Lord of Jomsborg Son of the Swedish Jarl Strut-Harald, Sigvaldi clashed with the Danes over the love of (or desire for) the daughter of the king of Wendland. Using deception, he captured the king of the Danes who he ransomed in exchange for the independence of the Wends and the Jomsvikings. Later he allied himself w ith Sweyn, the Danish king who was once his prisoner, and invaded Norway, only to flee during the battle of Hjorungavagr. Machiavellian rather than brave, he disappeared from the sagas around the year 1000, when he betrayed the king of Norway during the battle of Svolder. Hero of the Viking Age: Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson survived situations would have killed more than one hero and knows well what can lead to a man's doom. He is not subject to the rules of the Warlord's Pride, and generates 3 Saga Dice at the start of each turn, rather than two like the other Warlords. Only the best: Sigvaldi will only take w ith him seasoned fighters, and his warband may only include Jomsvikings Hearthguards.
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Wandering warriors: His men have followed Sigvaldi in his wild advent ures and are ready to do his bidding. Any warband led by Sigvaldi starts with its WRATH level set on 2 instead of o. Spoils of war: During their career, the Jomsvikings have collected the best suits of armour and equipment from their fallen enemies; therefore all models in a warband led by Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson have a Armour of 6 against shooting.
Vagn Akesson, Fearless Brother of the Jomsvikings Vagn appeared as one of the major characters of the Saga of the Jomsvikings, when at the age of twelve he became the youngest boy ever to be accepted into the brotherhood. During his time with the Jomsvikings, Vagn never ceased to display bravery that won him the respect of his brothers and his ship's crew, his brutal and fearless behavior was a sharp contrast with Sigvaldi who he almost defeated when passing the Jomsviking invitation combat. Hero of the Viking Age: Vagn is a fighter rather than a commander. He generates two SAGA Dice at the start of each turn. He will never fight with foreigners on his side, so if your warband includes Vagn, it may not include any Swords for Hire. Pride of the Jomsvikings: Vagn is the living embodiment of the Jomsvikings aspirations. He is strong, fearless and proud. Vagn generates 4 Attack Dice, plus a number of additional Attack Dice equal to the current WRATH value of his warband. In addition, the number of hits cancelled by his Resilience special rule is equal to the current WRATH level of his warband. Leading by example: As Vagn is leading by example, and won't let his brothers steal any glory from him, he does not benefit from the "We Obey" special rule but any Jomsviking unit that is engaged in melee within M of Vagn generates a number of additional Attack Dice equal to the current WRATH level of the warband.
Jomsviking's Code: The Jomsvikings w ill never retreat or surrender and w ill fight to death. Units in Vagn's warband may not Rest w hen activated, unless Exhausted .
Below you will find a description of the various abilities available to Jomsviking players. Some of the abilities give a choice to the opposing player to either let the Jomsvikings use their ability or increase their WRATH. This Wrath is used as the indicator of the effectiveness of the abilities of the third column of abilities on the Battleboard. When a Jomsviking player discards the dice for a Saga ability that gives a choice to his opponent, that player must make that choice before knowing what unit(s) will be targeted by the effect or what the intent of the Jomsviking player is. For example, if the Jomsviking player discards the die for ''Pagan Fury" the opponent must choose if he wants to let the Jomsvikings use it or increase their WRATH before the units that will be activated are designated.
You will have noted that the first column of Jomsviking abilities is quite different from other Battleboards. ((Pagan Fury" may activate two different units but leaves the choice to the opponent to let you increase your WRATH. The same applies to the ((Attack Pool" that is significantly more effective than the Attack Pool of other factions, but can be cancelled if your opponent lets you increase your WRATH. Finally, the Activation Pool depends on your current WRATH level.
Punishment Used during your opponent's Activation Phase This ability is used as a reaction to an opponent's activation. After your opponent announce its activation(s) you may use Punishment to let him choose between cancelling his activation (without any other effects), or increasingtheJomsviking's WRATH by two. Note that all activations are cancelled by Punishment so if your Welsh opponent uses ((the Rising Out" no unit would be activated unless he chooses to increase your WRATH. The same would apply to any unit activated by the Warlord with his uwe Obey" rule: both activations are cancelled. If the opponent chooses to cancel his activations, the dice are still spent or the capacity is spent (as the We Obey special rule of the Warlords).
Northern Tempest
A Storm Gathers Used during your Activation Phase This is another very useful ability. If your opponent chooses that you will use this ability's effects instead of increasing your WRATH by two, you immediately take two FATIGUE markers off your warband and discard them. They may come from the same unit or from two different units. After this ability has been used, your Activation Phase continues.
Pagan Armour Used during step 2) of an enemy Shooting or step 3) of any melee
A defensive combat ability that is really nasty. When these dice are discarded your opponent has the choice to either let you increase your WRATH by two or must discard half its Attack Dice generated by the unit/s in combat. If he chooses to discard half his Attack Dice (rounded up as usual) he may gain new Attack Dice later that are unaffected by this ability (for example if you were the attacker, your opponent has still an opportunity to play Saga abilities that will increase its Attack pool). Defence Dice are unaffected. It is especially useful against the best enemy units that generate a lot of Attack Dice.
Pagan Faith Used during step 2) of an enemy Shooting or step 3) of any melee Pagan Faith is simpler than Pagan Armour but remains effective. Your opponent has the choice between increasing your unit's Armour or increasing your WRATH by two.
Jomsborg! Used during your opponent' s Orders Phase An ability that can potentially shatter the best laid out plans of your enemy. You discard this die and designate a number of different enemy units equal to your current WRATH level. You immediately activate these units for a movement and will actually move them yourself. For t his movement, all t hese unit s are considered to be moving in uneven ground, so unless a special rule or Saga ability dictates otherwise, t hey w ill have their movement reduced. The activated units may not engage melee or (if you wondered) be moved off the tab le.
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After the effects of this ability have been resolved, your W RATH level is decreased by two.
Used during your Orders Phase This is a really terrific ability that will most often raise your WRATH than actually produce its effects. When these dice are discarded, your opponent must choose to either remove from t he table three of his figures or let you increase your WRATH by
two. The figures may be of any class, and do not need to come from the same unit. The figures must belong to his own wa rband, so if in a special scenario he has control of special figures (as civilians) hecannotchoosetoremovethese.
Holmgang Used during step 3) of any melee Holmgang is a real feast of combat dice! When you discard the die you gain a number of combat dice equal to twice your current WRATH. These dice may be At tack or Defence Dice or a mix of both. So for example, with a WRATH of 3, the Jomsviking player would gain 6 dice, that may be for example; 6 Attack Dice, 6 Defence Dice or 4 Attack Dice and 2 Defence Dice. Once you have chosen t he mix of At t ack and Defence Dice, decrease your WRATH by one.
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.. Hammer of Thor
We are Legends
Used during step 3) of any melee
Used during the Orders Phase of your opponent
This ability is potentially t he m ost devastating melee Saga ability on any Battleboard. When t he die is discarded, the Jomsvking player chooses if he wants to inflict an additional number of automatic hits equal to his WRATH (so these hits will come in addition to any normal hits scored by his Attack Dice) or cancel a number of hits taken by his unit equal to his 'tiRATH (the hits cancelled by Hammer of Thor are cancelled after the Jomsviking unit has rolled its Defence Dice). Note that the number of Attack or Defence Dice you rolled does not restrict these cancellations or hits. If your unit already has the full amount of Attack Dice (twice what it generated) it would not stop the use of Hammer of Thor in other words. This is a great ability when facing high-Armour enemies!
This ability cancels effectively a number of act ivations equal to t he WRATH level of t he Jomsvikings. Th e activations cancelled are the first the opposing player w ill use, and how they were gained is irrelevant. For example, if the WRATH of the Jomsviking was at 4 when this ability was used, the first four Activations (to move, rest or shoot) are cancelled without effects, disregarding the way they were done (by a free Warlord activation, with an Activation ability, etc. .. ). If an enemy Saga ability activates more than one unit (for example the Norman Hail of Arrows) each of these activations count toward the number of activations cancelled. Any special rule that grants a free activation that has been cancelled with "We are Legends" is considered to have been spent.
Immediately after this ability has been used, decrease your WRATH by one.
Dance of Steel Used during your Orders Phase or the Orders Phase of your opponent
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Dance of Steel can be used in your own Orders Phase or during the Orders Phase of an opposing player. You discard this die and designate a number of units equal to your WRATH. Until the end of the current turn, all these units have their Armour increased by one (against shooting and in melee). You can add a small marker near these units to help you remember that they are benefiting f rom the "Da nce of Steel". After you designated your units, decrease your WRATH by one.
After you unleashed this mighty ability, decrease your WRATH by two.
.• Ragnar speaks. ..
My lads of t heJo msvikings brotherh ood are quite different from the other Norsemen. W hile we t ry to get into a good and bloody melee as fast as possible, the Jomsborg boys tend to be mor e patient, raising t heir W rath steadily. Good advice for Jomsviking players w ould be t o wait for their W rat h to build up before sending their best units into melee. Once t he W rath reaches th ree or four, the abilities of t he last column become deadly, and your opponent will think twice before letting you increase it f urther. "We are Legends" if played w it h a high Wrath can shatter t he best laid out plans and bring victory by itself!
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Descendants of the Irish migrants established on the western coasts of Caledonia, the Dai-Riada Scots forged themselves (after the disappearance of the Romans) a reputation as pirates and raiders. As the Dai-Riada prospered and expanded, they clashed with Pictish kingdoms. Emerging victorious the Scots unified the patchwork of clans and lordships in the north of Britain, crafting a powerful kingdom that would stand fast against the Normans during their conquest of England. Standing at the side of the king of the Scots we find Mormaers, regional magnates that ruled on their estates in the name of the king. They are often mentioned in contemporary chronicles and this nobility was the cradle of more than one usurper and kingslayer! Your Warlord is most-likely one of these esteemed nobles.
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The bulk of the nobility was made of the Thanes (also known as Toisech). They served as bodyguards for the king or Mormaers, and were certainly the best equipped soldiers of any Scot army and the only ones that could go to war mounted on horses. They are the Hearthguards of your warband. Scots freemen were known as Soer-chele. With minimal formal training, they generally fought in close ranks, equipped with thrusting spears in shieldwall like formations. They are the Warriors of the Scots. In contrast to the Soer-chele, the Doer-chele were subjects of other men, either rich Soer-chele, Toisech or Mormaers. They are untrained, and likely to run away when danger becomes imminent. They form the Levies of any Scot warband.
lFA(Clr J[ (QfN lRlU[ lLlE§ Some Scots units may be fielded mounted. Mounted units are subject to the following special rules:
- The Movement of mounted units is increased to lL but reduced to § when moving from, through, or into an uneven ground. - Mounted units may never enter a building but they can engage in melee any unit occupying a building in t he normal • manner. - The Armour of mounted units is reduced by one w hen they are the target of a Shooting attack. - Mounted units may never benefit from any kind of cover, in melee or shooting. I
Apart from the restrictions mentioned above, m ounted units behave like ordinary units. If a unit starts the game mounted, it must remain mounted for the whole game and may never dismount. Some Saga abilities may only be used by spearmen, and indicated on the Battle board by their name in green. Scots Warlords and Hearthguards may be mounted. If fighting on foot, Scots Hearthguards are spearmen. Scots Warriors are spearmen. Scots Levies have bows or javelins.
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Macbeth, the last Celtic King of Scotland Kenneth Mac Alpin, King of D'Aiba Son of t he king of Dal Riada and a Pictish mother whose blood gave him some claim on the throne of Pictland, Kenneth MacA/pin (Cinaed mac Ailpin in gaelic) was the legendary unifier of Scotland in the 9th century. During the famous episode of MacA/pin Treason, he invited the Pictish nobility to a banquet, during which they were slaughtered, opening the way for the unification of Dal Riada and Pictland: Alba. MacA/pin's reign was plagued by the attempts to overthrow him and the numerous Viking raids that tried to establish a foothold on his territories.
The Mormaer of Moray, Macbeth (Mac Bethad mac Findlaich) became king of Scotland in 1040 by killing Duncan. His reign lasted for two decades, w hich was a long reign in t hese troubled times! A respected king, he ruled w isely and many kept him in high esteem after his death. He fought t he Vikings of t he Orkneys, and kept the Northumbrians at bay. He even went to Rome on pilgrimage. But as Scotland enjoyed a peaceful reign, in the south a storm was gathering, in the shape of Malcolm Canmore, the rightful heir to the throne. Supported by the Ea rl of Nort humbria -Scotland's archenemy du ring Macbeth's reign- he launched a large scale attack at the head of his army in 1054. Macbeth troops were crushed and the king had to flee for his life.
Hero of the Viking Age: as King of Alba, Kenneth MacA/pin
generates three SAGA dice at the start of each turn, and not two as the other Warlords. An Ferbasach "The Conqueror": During step 3) of any melee,
any friendly Scots unit within M of Kenneth MacA/pin gains Attack Dice if MacA/pin is not engaged in melee himself.
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MacAipin's Treason: At the start of the game, after deployment
but before rolling to see who starts the game, designate any enemy unit and roii 1D6 on the table below to see what happens to that unit. Deduct one from the die roll if the designated unit is a Warlord or Hearthguard unit, and add one if it is a Levy unit.
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MacAipin's Treason
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Plot unveiled. No effects.
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Dead Drunk. Each t urn, the first activation of the unit t hat uses SAGA dice is cancelled without any effect.
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Tipsy. The movem ent of the unit is reduced to § if it was fi ght ing on f oot, 1\\1[ if it was mounted.
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Broken Allegiance: The unit starts t he game with a number of FATI GUES eq ual to its Exhaustion level.
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Enraged! The unit suffers an Armour penalt y of -1 for t he w hole gam e. Unless Exhausted, this unit must choose Movement activation when it is activated, and use t his movement to m ove as far as possible in t he direction of the closest enemy unit , engaging it in melee if possible.
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Bribed! Ken neth M acAlpin p layer may immediat ely redeploy t he t arget ed unit within his own deployment zone and th is unit is considered to be a Scots unit until the end of t he game.
Macbeth died some years later in undetermined circumstances. He was the last Scottish king to rule in the Celtic way, as his successors all adopted the Anglo-Norman customs and laws. Hero of the Viking Age: Macbeth generates three SAGA dice at
the start of each turn, and not two as the other Warlords. This is for reference only, see the "Great Ruler" rule below to see how many dice a warband led by Macbeth actually rolls. Norman Exiles: During the power struggles between Edward
the Confessor and the Godwin dynasty, many Norman nobles found themselves out of favour in the English court and sought employment in Scotland. Macbeth retained some at his court. One unit of mounted Hearthguards (made of up to 8 models) in Macbeth's warband may be upgraded to Normans. Each of these Norman Exiles generates one additional Attack Die when their unit engages in melee with the enemy (but not if they are themselves engaged in melee) . Great ruler: As long as Macbeth is on the table, you always roll
6 SAGA dice at the start of the turn, disregarding the number of SAGA dice actually generated by your warband.
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Below you will find a description of the various abilities available to a Scots player. We will not deal with the first column of abilities, as they are similar to the ones used in Saga: the first three are intended to activate the different classes of models of a Scot warband, while the last one is the Combat Pool (that only provides Defence Dice).
Some abilities are restricted to units armed with thrusting spears (your Warriors and foot Hearthguards) and are indicated in green.
Without Mercy Used during the opposing player's Orders Phase
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We start the description of the Scot abilities with an unusual ability. This die must be discarded during your opponent Orders Phase, usually just before its end, after your opponent has allocated his Saga dice and used his own Orders Saga abilities. When this die is discarded, you immediately proceed with an Orders Phase, rolling 3 Saga Dice (the actual number of Saga Dice generated by your warband has no relevance for this ability, but any leftover Saga Die left on your Battleboard should be deducted from these 3 dice). During this out-of-turn Orders Phase, you may freely use any of your Orders abilities, allocate Saga Dice to your Battleboard and more generally speaking do what you would do in your own Orders Phase (your opponent may actually use Orders/Reaction abilities during this phase).
Once your Orders Phase is finished, the turn resumes with your opponent's Activation Phase. It means that you won't be able to use any Activation ability. The focus of this ability is to let the Scot player prepare some nasty abilities for his opponent's turn.
Hold the Ground Used during step 3) of any melee Spearmen only
This is a typical good defensive Scottish ability. Only troops with thrusting spears (Warriors and Hearthguards on foot) may use it. When this die is discarded, this ability gives you 2 Defence Dice (4 if the symbol indicated on your Battleboard has been used) and lifts the restrictions that limit the number of Defence Dice to twice the number of Attack Dice. It means that for example, if you have 5 Defence Dice and only suffered 3 hits, you will still roll 8 Defence Dice instead of being limited to 6. More often than not the dice gained this way are decisive by ensuring that you do not suffer any casualties. Great if combined with other Scot abilities.
Give Ground Used during step 3) of any melee "Give Ground" is a strange ability that should be read carefully. When this die is discarded, you immediately roll one die per model in your unit. For each die with a result HIGHER than t he current Armour of your unit (the armour rating considered is t he one used in melee), ALL enemy units in the melee must discard one of their Attack Dice . So, for example, if used on a 8 models strong Levies unit, you would roll eight dice, and for each die with a result of 4 or more, all enemy units engaged with your Levies must discard one of their Attack Dice. Really useful for low armoured unit s, or to discourage your opponent from using your FATIGUE to decrease your Armour value.
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Counter-Attack Used during step 3) of any melee
generate Attack Dice as if they were shooting, and as usual with javelins, the shooting won't add any extra FATIGUE, as it is not considered as a separate shooting activation.
Spearmen only This is a potentially devastating ability t hat works in combinat ion with other abilities on the Scots battleboard. You discard t his die and gain one Attack Die. Then, you must discard any Defence Dice you have accumulated so far (by other abilities or by reducing your Attack Pool during step 2) of the melee). For each Defence Die discarded, you gain two Attack Dice. Combined with uHold your Ground" or the Combat Pool, it can really boost your attack and end with an intimidating number of Attack Dice. Restricted to spearmen, it may only be used by your Warriors and your foot Hearthguards.
Tireless
Of Wood and Steel Used during step 3) of any melee Spearmen only This is the second ability at the Scots players' disposal t hat will exploit Defence Dice to gain At tack Dice. When these dice are discarded, t he Scots player immediately gains two Attack Dice and a number of additional Attack Dice equal to his current number of Defence Dice. It means for example that if your unit has reduced its Attack Pool it will gain back some of the Attack Dice it forfeited. And followed by a Counter-Attack it can be devastating!
Used during step 3) of any melee This ability will prevent your unit being vulnerable during t he enemy's turn, by taking FA TIGUE during a melee. This die is discarded during step 3) of the melee, but has no effect immediately. Instead, during the step 7) you will reduce the number of FATIGUE taken by one. As most of the time you will only take one FATIGUE at the end of the melee, it just means that your unit won't take any (but with Anglo-Danes it might be a different story!).
Keeping the Distance Used during step 3) of any melee or during step 2) of an enemy Shooting Another defensive ability (quite usual for Scots!) but this one may also be used against shooting and is not restricted to spearmen. When it is used, your unit counts as being in hard cover. It means that if shot at its armour is increased by one and will cancel hits of 3s and if fighting in melee it will cancel hits of 4s. Please remember that mounted models cannot benefit from cover, and this ability is not an exception.
A Barrier of Spears Used during step 3) of any melee Spearmen only This one is maybe the most powerful ability on the whole Scot Battleboard, and if used with a large unit of foot Hearthguards can unleash hell. When t hese dice are discarded, you roll as many D6 as you have models in your unit. For each die score lower than the current Armour of your unit (the Armour value considered is the one used in melee), you gain one Attack and one Defence Dice. So for example, with an 8 models strong Thanes unit, that still has its Armour of 5, you would roll 8 dice, with each roll resulting in a 1 to 4 granting two combat Dice. On average, such unit would get around five extra Attack Dice and five extra Defence Dice! It can become insane if your unit has increased its Armour to 6 with the enemy's FATIGUE.
Running Away Used during step 3) of any melee Levies or mounted units only
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This cheap ability will hopefully save the lives of many of your Levies and mounted models! The die is discarded during the step 3) of t he melee, and as soon as t his ability is used, t he melee proceeds to step 8) with your unit disengaging. This disengagement movement is increased to ]L (instead of the usual§). If this movement is made impossible, then as usual t he enemy unit will have to disengage. At the end of the disengagement movement (even if due to space constraints the enemy unit had to disengage) your unit ta kes 2 FATIGUES.
Reach Used during your Activation Phase Spearmen only This ability can be a suprise for your opponent. By discarding t his die, you activate one of your units (two if t he relevant die has been used for this ability) and all activated units may shoot with javelins at the end of their activation, but w ith a range reduced to S. The units will
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Ragnar speaks... The Scots will usually patiently await you, arranged in strong blocks of spearmen. Do not take that f or cowardice, as standing their ground is the best thing they do. As soon as you come into melee, you discover that they excel at producing Defence Dice, reducing your chances to inflict casualties to ridiculous odds. And when you have exhausted yourself against their shieldwall, they are ready to unleash a combination of abilities that will change all these Defence Dice into Attack Dice that will shatter your unit. They are incredibly tough but fortunately, more than often they will let you decide the pace of the game. Only a foolhardy Warlord will not try t o get t he best of this advantage.
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A special scenario that fields two opposing teams of players, and featuring some treason and backstabbing... For this scenario, you will need in addition to the standard gaming material a deck of traditional gaming cards.
LAYOUT
DEPLOYMENT
The game is played on a 72" x 48" table and opposes two teams of players each composed of two players with their own warband (so it is basically a two warbands versus two warbands scenario, at the start of the game at least!). Each player should have an equal sized warband and each player also needs to make a note of the figures he started with (to help work out the winner)
Starting with the team that won the choice of table edge, each team w ill deploy 2 units at a time. However both units have to owned by a single player and the opponent team chooses the team member who has to deploy these two units, the choice of the units to be deployed is left to the player selected by the opposing team (if a player has only one unit left, he just needs to deploy that last unit). All models must be deployed. All models must be deployed no closer than M[ and no further away than lL+M[ (18") from their starting table edge.
Before the game, take two Red cards and two Black cards from the playing cards deck and deal randomly one to each player. The two players that receive the Red cards start in the Red team and the two players that were dealt the Black cards start in the Black team. Each player puts the card on top of their Battleboard to show their allegiance at the start of the game. Roll 1D3+5. This is the number of terrain items to be set-up. Each team selects half these scenery items from the chart on page 6o of the Saga rulebook (if the number of scenery items is odd, roll 106 for each team with the highest scoring team deploying the extra piece). The team that gets the highest score on the roll of a 06 starts and deploys all its scenery items.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Once scenery has been set-up, each player rolls 2D6 and the highest scoring player chooses one long side edge to be the starting table edge of his team. The other team will deploy on the opposite tale edge
At the end of t he 6th turn, the victorious team is determined. Add up the VPs of all models in the Red scoring space, and divide that number by the current number of players in that team. Do the same with the Black space and the Black team. The team with the highest resulting score is the winning team.
Near the gaming table, you will need two clearly defined spaces for the casualties inflicted by the Red team and by the Black team. Use a card on top of these spaces to identify them. When the Red team inflicts a casualty to the Black team, the casualty model is moved to the Red space. The same applies for the Red casualties that are moved to the Black casualties space.
Within the winning team, each player now adds up the VPs of all models t hat have survived t he game. The p layer that has the highest number of VPs is the winner of the game. If two or more players are tied, they share the glory of this victory!
Each scenery item may be deployed anywhere on the table, but not within l\Vl[ of another scenery item.
SPECIAL RULES At the start of the game, you will need a way to determine the order of the turn randomly. It can be playing cards (each player being attributed a card), chits or tokens that are drawn from an opaque recipient or any other means that is available. At t he start of the turn, draw one card or chit to determine the player who will play his turn. He resolves his Or ders Phase and his Activat ion Phase. When he has finished, drawn a new card/chit to determine which player will play next. Continue t hat way until all players have played their turn.
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At the end of the turn of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th turns, when all players have played, an Allegiance sequence is resolved. To do so, give a black card and a red card to each player. Each player selects one of these cards and puts it in front of him, face down. All these cards are revea led simultaneously and p layers replace the card they had on top of their Battleboard with this new card that indicates their allegiance during the next t urn. So if a player selected a red card and was previously in the black team, he changes side and during the forth coming t urn, will be considered as a red player. If at the end of the Allegiance Sequence of the 4th turn, it happens that all players belong to the same team (quite unlikely but w ho knows?), all alliances are broken, the cards discarded and each player will be on his own for the rest of the game. The winner will then be determined purely by adding the VPs value of the models each player has on the table at the end of the 6th turn. The p layer whose warband has t he most VPs left on the table at the end of the game is the winner. For the sake of clarity, each p layer shou ld always have on top of his Battle board a card of the colour of his current team. Players belonging to the same team consider (for the sake of movement only) all models from their team partner(s) as f riendly models. You may not activate your team member models though, nor use them in any other way (as sacrificing t hem for the Resilience rule of your Warlord! ). A player t hat has lost his last model is eliminat ed and cannot win the game nor does he belong to any team. It can even happen th at all players belong to the same team for one turn, and this can be considered as a period of truce! Remember that there won't be any Allegiance Sequence during the sth and 6th turns, so the alliances of the 4th turn are engraved in stone!
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ce s MOVEMENT All foot models move M( in open terrain . All mounted models move
JL in open terrain.
All models move§ when moving from, in or through an uneven ground or cr ossing an obstacle. If you move within V§ of an enemy model, you must engage it in melee. Starting with the second activation, if you are within§ of an enemy unit, you must engage it in melee if activated for a Movement.
SAGA DICE At the start of the turn, you roll:
FATIGUE You gain FATIGUE for the foll owing reasons: - One FATIGUE for every Movement or Shooting activation after the first Movement or Shooting activation of the turn. - One FATIGUE after each melee. - One FATIGUE if a friendly unit is removed from the game in melee w ithin S of your unit . You may spend the enemy's FATIGUE to: - Reduce his Movement from
M[ to § or from § to V§ or from
JL to ML - When shot at, discard one enemy FATIGUE from the shooting unit to gain one Armour. - In Melee, discard one enemy FATIGUE to gain one Armour. - In Melee, discard one enemy FATIGUE to reduce the enemy's Armour by one.
All these effects may only be used once during each Movement activation, or Shooting or Melee.
- One SAGA die per Warrior or Hearthguard unit
FATIGUE LIMIT - Two SAGA dice per Warlord.
CLASS
FATIGUE LIMIT
- Minus one SAGA die for every SAGA die left on your
Levies
2
Battle board.
Warriors
3
With a maximum of 6 SAGA Dice.
Hearthguard and Warlord
4
If the number of FATIGUE markers a unit has is equal or higher than his limit, it is Exhausted and cannot be activated for
SHOOTING
Movement or Shooting and loses half its Attack Dice in Melee.
Ranges M( for javelins, ]L for bows, slings and crossbows.
MELEE
NUMBER OF ATTACK DICE Class
Number of Attack Dice per model
Levies
1 per two models
W arriors
1 per two models
Hearthguard 1 W arlord
2
Shooting steps: 1) Target determination and Attack Dice 2) Attacker then Defender use their SAGA abilities 3) Attack Roll (roll Attack Dice. Target number is the enemy's Armo ur. Max number of Attack Dice is equa l to twice the amount of Dice generated by the unit). 4) Defence Roll (cancels each hit on a 4 or more. Max number of Defence Dice is twice the number of hits taken) 5) Remove casualties
COVER Light Cover allows t he cancellation of hits o n 3s. Heavy Cover allows t he cancellation of hits of 3s and
NUMBER OF ATTACK DICE Class Attack
Dice per model
Levies
1
Warriors
1
per three models
Hearthguard 2 Warlord
5
Melee steps: 1) Determination of Attack Dice (Attacker & Defender) 2) Defender may reduce its Attack Pool to gain Defence Dice 3) Attacker & Defender abilities 4) Attack Roll (Attacker & Defender, target number is the enemy's Armour. Max number of Attack Dice is equal to twice the amount of Dice generated by the unit) 5) Defence rolls (Attacker & Defender, cancels hits on 5s. Max number of Dice is twice the number of hits taken) 6) Remove casualties 7) Fatigue is attributed 8) Loser must disengage.
adds one Armour to the target. A unit in Cover cancels all hits on 4s rather than 5s. be activated for Movement or Shooting and loses half its Attack Dice in Melee. •
EXPERIE CE 1 000 YEARS OF EUROPEA
ARFARE
Medieval Warfare is a unique magazine examining military history in the period between 500- 1500 A.[
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Northern Fury is the first supplement for Saga, designed to expand the possibilities of the game with four new factions: The Anglo-Saxons, defending their faith and homelands across the centuries against many bloodthirsty invaders. The Bretons, heirs of the celtic traditions, unrivalled horsemen that fought their enemies using tactics inherited from their British ancestors. The Jomsvikings, legendary northern mercenaries. Their lives have been dedicated to Odin and Thor and now more than ever, fear their wrath! The Scots, unified under the rule of mighty kings, unbowed they will defend their right to rule the north with their blood. In addition to these new factions, Northern Fury 1 also contains a new scenario, Wooden Oaths,' designed to be played by 4 players, involving much back-stabbing and table talk! You will need a copy of SAGA to use this supplement. This book comes with 4 boards specially designed for use with Saga. Boards may not be sold separately.
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E a.
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K EERIN G T H Eu:c..::----J Activation
Orders/ Reaction
DISJ:ANCE
Discard one die to activate a unit of Hearthguards or a \Varlord.
Discard this die and immediately roll to three SAGA Dice and perform an out-of-turn Orders Phase • using these SAGA dice.
Melee or Shooting/Reaction Discard this die. Your unit counts as being behind heavy cover for the resolution of this shooting or melee.
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RUNNING AWAY
SOER·CHELE
HOL.D THE GROUND
Activation
Melee
Discard one die to activate a unit of Warriors.
Discard this die. Gain two Defence Dice (four if the discarded die was a ~). During this melee, your unit is not limited to a number of • Defence Dice equal to twice the number of hits taken.
DOER-CHELE
GIVE GROUND
Activation
Melee
Activation
Discard one die to activate a unit of Levies.
Discard this die. Roll one die for each model in the unit. For each die with a result higher than its Armour all enemy units involved this melee must discard one Attack Die.
Discard this die and activate on e of your units for a movement (two units if the discarded die was a ). For this movement only, the unit s) is (are) considered to b e armed with javelins, but with a reduced range of §.
ACTIVATION POOL
COU N1rER-ATTACK~...., .
OEWOOD~NDS
Melee
Melee
Discard this die. Gain one Attack Die and discard all your Defence Dice. Gain two Attack Dice per Defence Die discarded • in this way.
Discard these dice. Gain two Attack Dice, plus a number of Attack Dice equal to the number of Defence Dice your unit has.
TIR tESS
A BARRIER OF. SPEARS f •
Orders Discard o ne di e to roll two additional SAGA Dice.
.~
.
1Welee or Shooting/Reaction Discard one die to gain one Defence Die (two dice if the discarded die was a ~).
Melee Discard this die. At the end of this melee, all your engaged units reduce by -1 the number of FATIGUE they should
take.
, &
Melee Discard this die in a melee where only one of your Levies or a mounted unit is engaged. This unit immediately disengages, but may move up to lL for this disengagement movement. Your unit takes 2 FATIGUES at the end of this movement. No melee is resolved.
Melee Discard these dice. Roll one die for each model of your unit. For each die with a result lower than its Armour, gain one Attack and one Defence Die.
MACHTIERNS
AD¥ MARY
Activation
Melee
Shooting
Discard one die to activate a Warlord.
Discard this die. If you have no foot unit engaged in this melee, the melee ends immediately. Your units must immediately make a disengagement move.
Discard these dice. Cancel all benefits from cover for this shooting. The target cancels all hits suffered as if they were inflicted by melee attacks.
r
ATTACK!
SOLDIERS Activation
Shooting
Shooting
Discard one die to activate a unit of Warriors.
Discard this die. Remove one FATIGUE from the target unit to decrease his Armour by 1.
Discard this die. Gain three Attack Dice (four if the 1 discarded die was a I·~!
MISHERS
FIG8
Activation
Melee
Discard one die to activate a unit of Levies.
Discard these dice. Immediately resolve a shooting with one of your units engaged in this melee, targeting one of the enemy units also engaged in this melee.
ACTIVATION POOL Orders Discard one die to roll two additional SAGA Dice.
Shooting or Shooting/ Reaction Discard one die to gain one Attack or on e Defence dice (two if the discarded die was a f±E ).
).
~INT ~ADO
Shooting Discard this die.Re-roll once any of your Attack Die that rolled a 1 or a 2.
THE SHADO
Shooting
OF DEATH
Discard this die. Immediately after this shooting?the target unit takes a number of FATIGUES equal to half the number of models that were killed by your shooting. ,
Shooting Discard this die. Discard half the Attack Dice your unit generates. Decrease the Armour of the target by 2.
Orders/Reaction
Shooting/Reaction
Discard these dice. Activate for a movement all your mounted units. The activated units may not voluntary end their movement within M( of an enemy unit.
Discard this die. All Attack Dice of the shooting unit that rolled 5 or 6 (after any eligible re-roll) are discarded without effects.
WRATH
PUNISHMEN-r
JOMSBORG!
Activation
Activation/Reaction
Orders I Reaction
Discard one d ie. ~ 'Ou,..
opporrent clzooses:
You immediately activate two of your units OR Your WRATH level is increased by one.
JOMSVIKINGS Activation Discard one die to activate a unit of Hearthguards or a Warlord.
Discard this die. Activate for a movement a number of enemy units equal to your WRATH level. These units are always considered to move in uneven ground and may not engage melee with this movement. r ecrease your ,\ R.lT3 Lv . i / .1 <.
more enemy units are activated. •
lOp J'it.ll c]ll}fJSe5.
All these activations are cancelled t Your WRATH level is increased by two.
" 'C-- 0 llMGANG Melee
NORi HERN T ~ EST Orders Discard these dice.
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'' o c
t&
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Discard this die. Gain a number of dice equal to twice your WRATH level. These dice may be Attack or Defence dice
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dtoc;s '" ~
He removes 3 figures from his warband. ) R Your WRATH level is increased by two.
:Jwe eyaz r-
by Vll
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A S~ORM GATirlERS
HAMMER OF. THOR •
Activation
Activation
Melee
Discard one die to activate a unit of Warriors.
Discard this die.
D iscard this die. Inflict X automatic hits OR cancel the first X hits suffered by your unit (after rolling defence dice). X being your WRATH level.
RENG
, ' >l>l )
ren · '
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< os-es·
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You discard 2 FATIGUES from any of your units. R Your WRATH level is increased by two.
_ ~crease / u:- \ I"\..\ . " b
< •• L.
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ACTIVATION POOL Orders
PAGAN ARMOR
ANCE Of: STEEL
Melee or Shooting I Reaction
Orders or Orders/Reaction
-
Discard one die to roll a number of additional Saga Dice equal to your WRATH level.
Discard these dice. 'n c cpo 1f?Jll drooses: A unit that you choose discards half its Attack Dice. 0 Your WRATH level is increased by two.
A1TACK POOL
PAGA
Melee or Shooting!Reacti"" ..
Melee or Shooting/Reaction •
Discard this die.
Discard this die.
}our opponent chooses: You gain 2 Attack or Defense Dice OR Your WRATH level is increased by one.
FAITH
. .. wr oppo•rent cho l.Ses:
Discard this die. Designate a number of different units equal to your WRATH level. The Armour of these units is increased by one until the end of the turn. J\ATI I •el
1
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Your unit's Armour is increased by one OR Your WRATH level is increased by two.
Orders/Reaction Discard these dice. The first X activations made this turn by the enemy warband are cancelled (X being your current WRATH level).
:J'?c-et ~e~ ou. L'R.1T'J .--' level fj~ two.
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EALDORMEN
STO~T AEARTS
Activation
Orders or Orders/Reaction
Orders
Discard one die to activate a unit ofHearthguards or a Warlord.
Discard this die. Until th e end of the tu rn, when determining the effects of Saga abilities, each of your units are considered to be composed of the actual number of figures 2 (+4 if the discarded die was a ).
Discard this die. Roll one extra SAGA d ie for each of your units made of at least 10 figures.
THEGNS
TRUCE
Activation
Orders
Discard one die to activate a unit of Warriors.
Discard this die. At the end of this turn, any u nit that has not been activated discards one FATIGUE (units composed of at least 10 models discard 2 FATIGUES).
CEORLS Activation Discard one die to activate a unit of Levies.
THE MUSTER Activation
HE i;¥RD
0 SURRENDER •
DEFENDERS OF ~HE REALM Melee Discard this die. Gain two extra dice (Attack or Defence or a mix of both). If your unit is made of at least 10 models, gain two extra dice (Attack or Defence or a mix of both).
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER
Activation
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Discard these dice. Activate all your units made of up of at least 10 models and remove one FATIGUE from each of these u nits. These activations do not generate any FATIGUE.
CLASH OF SHIElDS Melee
..
Discard these dice. Gain a number of Attack Dice equal to a third of the number of models composing the unit.
VER~AP-
SHIELDS!
Shooting/Reaction Discard this die. Gain a number of Defence Dice equal to a third of the number of models composing the unit.
Discard one die to activate any one unit mad e of at least 10 models.
Melee or Shooting/Reaction
COMBAT POOL
BRET:WALDA
Melee or Shooting/Reaction
Melee
Orders or Orders/Reaction
Discard this die. Your Warlord gains one Armour and may reroll once each Defence die that did not cancel an enemy hit.
Discard these dice. Until the end of the turn, all your Levies units are considered to be Warriors (these effects cease as soon as the unit is reduced below 10 models).
Discard one die to gain one Attack or one Defence die (two dice if the discarded die was a . ).
Discard these dice. Your unit increases its Armour by + 1. If this unit is made up of at least 10 models it also gains 2 extra Defence dice.
AXON KINGDOM
