The Saga of ᛗᚨᛖᛏᛏᛁ ᚱᛖᛞᛒᛖᚨᚱᛞ

 So about a year ago I put together and painted some Victrix Vikings into a small warband to use in games of SAGA with a fellow FLGC member. Sadly his work patterns changed and he was no longer able to attend so they have sat in a box on my shelf un-used on the table. 

I often play NUTS! by Two Hour Wargames which has provided some excellent solo and cooperative games set in WW2 so I decided to give Great Hall Burning an older set of rules from Ed at Two Hour Wargames a run out with my forlorn miniatures. 

As with other THW games you play as a Star player, these are the tabletop representation of you the player, and have Star qualities that can help you stay alive. Your Star maybe alone, part of or leading a small group or pehaps even just a small cog in a larger army.  The rules provide a framework where by you can play any sort of games you wish, small to large, and also includes some RPG-lite rules for developing your stars and the men about him. The game also has a simple low paperwork campaign system with the aim of raising your Star up through society to become a noble or even king.

 So for my first game we needed to create a new star, ᛗᚨᛖᛏᛏᛁ ᚱᛖᛞᛒᛖᚨᚱᛞ is the eldest son of one of the Jarls ship masters. Raised around warriors and boats he is now beginning his own saga in service to the Jarl as a Freeman Warrior. 

For his first task he has been granted command of a small band of Freeman Warriors, men like him who have sworn there swords in service to the Jarl in return for future land or trading rights, and has been sent to investigate rumours of Saxon raiders crossing into his land.

ᛗᚨᛖᛏᛏᛁ deploys with his men into the woods on his left flank as he decides a stealthy approach towards the river using the raised ground to hide their movements will allow him to see what is happening around the bridge before committing his force.

As the band make their way through the trees along the back edge of the ridge they hear the sounds of movement on the other side. ( Potential Enemy Forces - PEF's are a THW game mechanic for deploying and moving blinds in the game)

As the warband clears the edge of the hill they are spotted by a group of raiders , poorly armed and spoiling for a fight.

Sensing that escape over the bridge would be difficult the raiders opt to charge ᛗᚨᛖᛏᛏᛁ ᚱᛖᛞᛒᛖᚨᚱᛞ and his warriors but are badly mauled

Pushed back by the warriors the Raiders are slaughtered to a man.

Hearing Sounds from the woods to the right of the bridge the warriors form a line blocking the bridge and any escape. But a deer bursts from the trees and everyone relaxes.

Having scouted the rest of the river bank the warband recover their wounded and return to camp to report the presence of the Saxons and celebrate their success. 

More adventures await ᛗᚨᛖᛏᛏᛁ ᚱᛖᛞᛒᛖᚨᚱᛞ and his men and this success has brought them the acceptance of the camp that they can at least hold their own in a fight.