Norman Crossbow Conversion - Part 1

Having decided to use plastics for my Anglo-Danish and Norman Saga armies I wanted to find a way of creating crossbowmen from the plastic kits. The kits I have are the Conquest Games (CG) Norman Knights and Norman Infantry boxes. Also, the Wargames Factory (WF) Saxon Thegns and Saxon Fyrd. There are very few missile weapons to be had in the kits, none in the Conquest Games kits. Definitely no crossbows!
Having scoured eBay a few times I came across some metal 28mm scale crossbows. Just what I needed.

Here is the completed conversion......

ready for action - after a coat of paint

Quick AAR: Blood in the Snow (6 point Clash of Warlords)

Jon and I had a little time to kill and decided to quickly throw down on a game of Saga.  We both used our standard 6 point lists: Vikings (6x Hearthguard, 6x Hearthguard, 4x Berserkers, 12 Levy Bowmen, 8 warriors) and Normans (8x Hearthguard, 4x Hearthguard, 4x Hearthguard, Crossbows, Levy Bowmen)

The board.  Vikings all in the North.  Normans: Levy Bowmen to the left, with Archers to their right.  On the other side of the pond is a big unit of Knights.  Warlord and Knights wait behind the ranged units.

Focus On .... Danish Axemen

The flavour in the Danish Faction comes from the ability to utilise the Dane Axe (aka the Broadaxe). Here are the rules from page 43 of the Main Rulebook.

"Anglo Danish Warlords have double handed axes."
"Anglo-Danish Hearthguard may be armed with double-handed Dane axes." 
"When engaged in melee, a unit with double handed Dane axes will not use its shields and so suffers a -1 penalty to its Armour value. Hence, if the unit an Armour of 5, it counts as having an armour of 4."
"Attack rolls made by a unit equipped with double handed Dane axes gets a +1 bonus. To hit an Armour 4 unit, you'll only need 3's. This makes them easier to hit in melee."

Dane Axe delivers a deadly blow in the Bayeux Tapestry

The Godwinson Brotherhood By Joe Moore

Just a few pictures of the Godwinson Brothers set released by Gripping Beast.  (link goes to Architects of War)  Painted by Joe Moore, lead Sagamite.

Focus On .... Viking Berserkers

Each Warband in Saga has its own unique flavour. For the Vikings Warband, specific rules are on the sparse side. One option you may want to consider is the Viking Berserker. Here are the rules from page 41 of the Main Rulebook.

"One Unit of Viking Hearthguard exactly 4 models strong may be desginated as Berserkers. Each Berserker model generates 4 attack dice in melee (instead of 2 for other Hearthguards) but has their armour reduced to 3."

The Raven's Shadow- Looming Soon!

The 2nd SAGA supplement is on the way!  From the Studio Tamahawk Blog (Scroll down for English):

 New supplement means new factions. As Northern Fury, The Raven's Shadow offers four brand new and original factions: 
- The Franks, that will allow the players to muster either a Merovingian, a Carolingian or a Capetian warband. They will need practice to be used properly, but are one of the most rewarding Saga faction for experienced players. 
- The Irish that illustrate the cover. Their focus on individual deeds and heroic feat of arms are translated into their battleboard, and they will offer you the opportunity to field new units on the table as the Curaidh, King's Champions or the famous Irish wolfhounds! 

The Battle of Battle, 1066

If you are in the United Kingdom, and you follow this blog, the Battle of Hastings should be at the very top of your list of places to visit for several reasons. First, its well preserved for a 900 year-old site (When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not!). There are so many battlefields of the Dark Ages that have simply disappeared without a trace. The exact location of major battles such as Stamford Bridge, and Brunanburh are lost to archaeologists.