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Rules: War & Conquest: 2160 points, more or less
Vikings v Islemen (the latter is modified somewhat)
Situation: All of the famous Viking chiefs are gone now, yet there still remain a few who are attempting to find fame and fortune in “the old” ways by raiding isolated areas just beyond the powerful reach of established kingdoms. A quick “smash & grab” raid can still be done in the outlying areas before the King can respond – especially with many of the best fighters having yet to return from the Second Crusade.
One such leader is the still obscure “Ragnar the Unluckiest.” A mysterious figure whose origins are lost in the mists of the past. His men come from many places, Upper Norway, the Orkneys and some from Ireland. He’ll take anyone willing to fight. He hates his moniker and hopes to earn something more “War-like.”
It is too early to know how successful this raid has been, not all parties have returned yet. Ragnar has established a base near a poor fishing village. Some of his men are looting a nearby church, whereas others have gone even further in search of loot. But before they can consolidate, one slightly drunk scout reports that the Islemen are coming!
The Vikings:
Ragnar the Unlucky (commander)
Herger the Grumpy (Battle standard)
Ravn the Seer, Ragnar’s personal godi
Angantyr Angrimsson company (24 Bondi)
Thorfinn the Tall’s company (split into 2x18 Bondi)
12 Bondi Archers
10 Thrall skirmishers

Lagertha the Hot (sub-commander)
Olaf Finehair’s company (24 Hirdmen)
Róta Ragnarssdotter’s company (24 Raiders)

Siggy the not quite as hot as Lagertha (sub-commander)
Bue Wolfbeard’s company (24 Ulfhednar)


The Scotts:
Somairle, Lord of Argyll (Commander)
Black Aonghas (sub-commander, Somairle’s foster brother)
Madadh-allaidh’s company (24 Best of Islemen)
Dougal mac Aonghas’ company (21 Best of Islemen w/ 2 handed axe)
Bran mac Alpin’s company (24 Islemen)
Raghnall mac Somairle company (24 Islemen)
Sigurd the Stout’s company (24 Islemen)
Uhtred of Galloway (12 rather wild Galwegians)
Somerled the Less’ company (24 Norse-Irish mercenaries)
(no relation – supposedly a common name)
8 skirmishers with javelins

And as soon as I remember how to post pictures, I will


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Odin looks over the battlefield from his tower in Valhalla and wonders if the sun shining on the church is a bad omen


Meanwhile Somerled confers with the local monks



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Better Highlanders



Lesser Highlanders & skirmishers




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The Vikings:
Ragnar the Unluckiest, his battle standard, a godi, Lagertha the Hot & Siggy the not quite as hot as Lagertha


Odin & the Valkyries

Nice armies! Looking forward to seeing more from you. I'm not familiar with War & Conquest, how is it as a system?

 Oryza Sativa wrote:
Nice armies! Looking forward to seeing more from you. I'm not familiar with War & Conquest, how is it as a system?

gr

War & Conquest is by Rob Broom.
It is kind of a grandchild of Warhammer Fantasy

Rob was a big part of Warhammer Ancients
Then when that died he started War & Conquest

Huzzah for Ragnar the Unluckiest!

So many neat looking miniatures! I love that little monk setpiece.

Turn 1:
Not much happened as the Islemen move up. The Bondi Bowmen manage to take out some of 3 of Somerled the Less' Irish-Vikings.
The Ulfhednar are alerted and form up at the approaching highlanders.

Rule note: Unlike most warhammer games, this system goes "strike-armor save-kill"
Somerled's forces advance to contact:



Turn 2: Islemen win the initiative
Somerled the Less' Irish-vikings charge uphill against "Fred Vikings II" (because I got them from brother Fred and unit is split in two)
The Vikings route but escape

For the Viking turn Ragnar the Unluckiest decides to charge down the hill
Ragnar joins Angantyr Angrimsson company (Mermaid flag) charges Raghnall mac Somairle company (Old Ral Partha figs - note they are all left-handed)
The Islemen route but escape
Fred's Vikings I charge Sigurd the Stout’s company - the Islemen route and are overrun
Somerled is caught up in route
Meanwhile, Black Aonghas leads Bran mac Alpin’s company against the Ulfhednar. The wolfskins are victorious but the Islemen stand.



Rules notes:
If you charge uphill it is a minus to your "strike" (usually need a 4+ to hit, so going up hill requires a 5+)
If you charge downhill - it gives you D6 extra strikes. Of course mt son rolled a 5 & 6 on his, while I rolled a one on mine.

Flee/pursuit roll is interesting. You roll 3 dice:
Regular infantry use two lowest
Light infantry use high & low dice

Rally phase is at the end of turn - and both sides do it at same time.
Fred's vikings II & Lefties both rally. Somerled gets a hold of himself as well.




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Turn 3
Saw lots of fighting
Irish-vikings finally run down "Fred's Vikings II"
The Lefties fight Ragnar's Mermaids to a standstill two phases in a row.
Black Aonguas continues to fight the Ulfhednar - but it is getting bloody and both sides are reduced to less than half
Some wild Galwegians attack the Viking thrall skirmishers, they hold one round, then break

Lagertha's forces make their appearance

Rules notes:
Both sides hit simultaneously, and fight in one rank (unless you have thrusting spears - which no one does in this battle)
If there is no clear victor, or one side stays, then they will fight in two ranks next phase.
Regular infantry van have up to a +2 rank bonus, Lights max out at +1

Some wild Galwegians attacking Viking thralls:


The Islemen & Vikings get stuck in

Some really beautiful work on these minis. Those shields are gorgeous, however they were achieved. Impressed with the variety of tartans and so on too. Lovely stuff.

 Da Boss wrote:
Some really beautiful work on these minis. Those shields are gorgeous, however they were achieved. Impressed with the variety of tartans and so on too. Lovely stuff.

Thanks did some of them - like the piper
My older brother, a much better artist than me, did the lefties and the ones charging the thralls about 30 years ago or more.
Most of the shields are decals

Game is still pending, have completed a couple of turn with a few more to go. Just need time to do post

Thanks for sharing this. Love the minis, love the "old" school feel of it all. I am a long time warhammer fantasy player, who lost all interest when it became hero hammer to the max sometime in the late or early 2k's. Not saying that style is somehow wrong, just not my interest (AOS also is not how I want to play fantasy battles) This system sounds much more interesting as tactics, movement, etc matter.
I will also point out, I live somewhere in the wilderness of California as well...

Thanks Edward!

I live in a place called Downieville. (north of Grass Valley)
2010 Population 282
1850 Population 5000 (kind of like movie "Paint your Wagon"


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Turn #4
Norsemen win initiative and move first
And as they are wont to do, the Dice gods turned against Ragnar -(which his how he got his sobriquet "The Unluckiest")
[some of the best die rolling in my life coming Ragnar's way]

In the 1st battle, Somerled's Irish score 11/13 hits on a 4+.against the wolves. They are overrun and destroyed
In a second battle, my "Lefties" score 9/12 hits on a 4+ v. the Ragnar & his Bondi vets. To make matters worse, the lefties make 4/6 saves on a 6+
Though Ragnar is unlucky, he is stubborn and sticks around hoping his Huscarls arrive before it is too late.

Turn 5
The Irish and a unit of lesser Islemen hit the shieldmaiens on two sides. The latter routes but escapes.
The lefties manage to capture Ragnar's personal standard. What an insult!

Somerled personally defeats some vikings.


The Irish about to charge downhill onto the shieldmaidens. A unit of lesser Islemen (off camera to right) will flank them


The Lefties about to charge Ragnar - uphill no less - and take his standard


My camera work is not the best.

Rules note:
I like how they do leaders here. This is no "hero hammer"
Leaders just add a few attacks (usually 1-2) of the same type/strength of whatever unit they happen to be with.
If the leader attaches to a unit, they can use his morale; if within his command distance, it's just +1 to unit's morale


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For anyone interested, the motto on the mermaid flag says "chicken of the sea" in Finnish
named after an old tuna commercial

Great minis and thrilling battle. I didn't know that system but it looks very interesting, although i'd not get many volunteers to play another one with me!

Turn 6 – Ragnar meets his end
Vikings have initiative and go 1st

Raghnall mac Somairle and his lefties covered themselves in glory. While still struggling uphill against Ragnar and the few surviving mermaids (veteran Bondi) they were hit in the rear by the remnants of a Bondi company. Incredibly, the lefties won the combat! A wounded Ragnar and his small band stood their ground, but the Bondi fled.
Meanwhile, in a last-ditch effort, Ragnar’s Huscarles charge uphill in hopes of defeating the Irish before they get flanked by Black Aonghus’ force. The Irish stand – barely.
The Islemen kept up the pressure on their turn.
The mermaids are finally defeated and overrun by the lefties; Ragnar is missing. Is he dead, wounded or has he run away to fight another day?
Meanwhile, the huscarls are flanked as predicted. They stand firm (barely). After so many casualties, Somairle decides to let them sail away, but they must leave their loot, weapons and armor behind.
The end results:
The Vikings:
Ragnar the Unlucky (commander) – wounded and missing in action
Herger the Grumpy (Battle standard) – killed, standard captured
Ravn the Seer, Ragnar’s personal godi - missing
Angantyr Angrimsson company (24 Bondi) - routed
Thorfinn the Tall’s company (split into 2x18 Bondi) - routed
12 Bondi Archers – no casualties
10 Thrall skirmishers - Routed

Lagertha the Hot (sub-commander) - missing
Olaf Finehair’s company (24 Hirdmen) – 14 survivors
Róta Ragnarssdotter’s company (24 Raiders) - routed

Siggy the not quite as hot as Lagertha (sub-commander) - missing
Bue Wolfbeard’s company (24 Ulfhednar) – routed
The Scotts:
Somairle, Lord of Argyll (Commander) – wounded, but basking in glory of victory
Black Aonghas (sub-commander, Somairle’s foster brother) - survived
Madadh-allaidh’s company (24 Best of Islemen) – 19 survivors
Dougal mac Aonghas’ company (21 Best of Islemen w/ 2 handed axe) – 11 survivors
Bran mac Alpin’s company (24 Islemen) – 19 survivors
Raghnall mac Somairle company (24 Islemen) – 8 survivors
Sigurd the Stout’s company (24 Islemen) - routed
Uhtred of Galloway (12 rather wild Galwegians) – 6 survivors
Somerled the Less’ company (24 Norse-Irish mercenaries) – 18 survivors
(no relation – supposedly a common name)
8 skirmishers with javelins - routed

The lefties beat off an attack from two directions - while proud papa Somairle looks on

The Irish barely hang on against th emight if Ragnar's Huscarls, while Black Aonghus prepares to hit them in the flank.

Odin lectures Ragnar on the finer points of Viking tactics - in front of his lost men no less. Is he dreaming? Is he being barred from Valhalla?

Hopefully Odin sends him back to average his dishonor.

Brilliant. Lot of fun to read, great minis. Thank you for sharing, hope to hear more.

That was beautiful!

Yeah, that was a really fun battle report to read, and a lot of well painted figures!

A very good read and amazing models and paint as well. Well done and I hope to see more

I have always been intrigued by War and Conquest. Good to see it being played every once in a while. Likewise a nicely painted pair of armies as well.