A Few Pictures From an Incomplete Battle

Jon and I started a battle of Sacred Ground but only got halfway through.  Tough to say where the battle would end up at this point.  Jon still had 2 units left: 2 Berserkers and 8 Hearthguard.  I was down to a total of 7 Hearthguard but also had my Crossbows.  Still anyone's game!

My Normans: Now and Later

I wanted to take a second to catalog my Norman army so far, and talk about where I plan to take it.  I've been slow getting this army off its feet since Saga is very much my "Second Game".

What Conquers a Conqueror?

The White Tower (Tower of London)

Advance warning & disclaimer time! Fundamentally, I'm a historian of medicine. Its what I studied at university, and its something that runs deeper than even military history, so what I'm about to write is going to be gross, or downright lose-your-lunch disgusting. So if you're put off by gruesome stuff, or perhaps your sitting down for lunch or something while catching up on the blog-o-sphere, you may want to have a look at Dux's excellent Saga blog and come back once your meal has settled firmly.

Right, you've been warned!

Norman Crossbows!

To counter Jon's new Viking levy bowmen, I finally finished up some Norman crossbows!  With their reduction in enemy armor, these guys are one of the best shooting units in the game.  I've had great success with them- especially vs those who already take a reduction in armor against shooting like welsh or knights!

Normans vs Vikings in Clash of Warlords (4pt)

Sean's first game of Saga!  Sean borrows Jon's Vikings for this round.  We decide to play Clash of Warlords just to show Sean the mechanics.

Steveaux the Handsome's Normans 8x Knights 4x Knights 4x Knights

Sean  Luc's Normans 6x Hirdmen 6x Hirdmen 8x Bondi

More 4Ground Games Buildings

After thoroughly enjoying my Medieval Cottage by 4Ground Games (see my review here), I was eager to order the other 2 buildings in the line: The Dwelling, and The Hovel.  Because they are essentially the same product shaped slightly differently, I'm not going to review them individually, but instead let the pictures do the talking.

The village

Miscellaneous Celtic History 101

The Ancient Celts

The Celtic languages constitute one of the major branches of the Indo-European family of languages in Europe. Celtic-speakers seem to have been particularly wide-spread across Northern Europe in the ancient period of Iron Age Europe. As the dominant "barbarian" groups of the Europe, various Celtic tribes first appear in early Greek histories.  The Celtic speakers of Gaul were one of early Rome's major enemies.  In the 390s BCE, a Gallic force defeated the Romans and sacked Rome itself.

Such Celtic preeminence gradually faded as Roman rule expanded northwards. Thanks to the Gallic Wars, in what is now France, the Roman Republic brought many Celtic-speakers under its rule. The Roman invasion of Britain incorporated the many island Celts there.  The peoples in these new provinces did not immediately switch to Latin - rather a hybrid culture with Roman and Celtic elements developed -- but Celtic tribes lost their independence in these areas.