A Lechery of Lancastrians

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Virtual Table via Table Top Simulator
Players: Phil Gardocki running Medieval Scots, list 222
               David Ray running War of the Roses, Lancastrian, list 236.
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 200 points per side.
Theme: Just passing time.

Today, the Scots will ally with their natural foes, the Scots, to meet their third most hated enemy, the English.

The Forces:

Medieval Scots, circa 1310AD

MacLawerence (Strategist), his brother McDarril of Aviemore(competent) and MacDarril of Coylumbridge, Allied and Ordinary, and an overwheening pottle-deep filthy rogue! But probably a blood relation as well.

12 Scots Spearmen, Pike, Mediocre

4 Small Boys with stick bows, Light Infantry, Bow

1 Nobles, Foot Knights, Heavy Swordsmen 2HW, Heavy Armor, Elite

4 Island Warriors, Medium Swordsmen, Bow

Breakpoint of 22

An idle question. Ever since I read Game of Thrones in 1999, (yes, I am one of those guys), I have been squelching of the similarity between Lanister and Lancaster. Anyone else have that problem?

The Lancastrians, which art only mark'd for hot vengeance and the rod of heaven. Led by the wayward decayed misbegotten-divel, Stafford, the Competent, hiding with his loggerheaded puke-stockinged knights.
Thou bawdy common-kissing lout, Glouster, the Ordinary!
And thou traitorous base-court eunuch, Bedford, both Competent, but Unreliable.

5 Foot Knights, Heavy Swordsmen 2HW, Heavy Armor, one is Elite

2 Retinue, Longbow, stakes, elite

2 Welsh Archers, Longbowmen

3 Militia, Heavy Swordsmen, 2HW, Mediocre

2 Kerns, Javelinmen

2 Kerns, Light Infantry, Javelin

2 French, Crossbowmen

1 Heavy Bombard

2 Border Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Impact
1 Currours, Heavy Cavalry, Impact

Breakpoint of 23

Deployment:

The Lancastrians, for which there's no room for faith, truth, nor honesty are at the top.
The Scots, would thou wert clean enough to spit upon, are at the bottom.

The Scots Pike are squeezed in between two field. The Highlanders were deployed to either take the hill, or retreat to the field they were adjacent.

I was expecting some horse knights, but not 5 units of foot knights, some elite. Just the thing to root out the Scot's badgers in their den.

Turn 1:

The Lancastrian knights move out at a trot. On their left, the hill is flooded with Irish and Welsh. Border horsemen race across the field looking for targets.

 

MacLawrence is tightly packed between the fields, but has a surplus of command points, and begins to redeploy a couple of files of pike leftward. MacDarril notes the Lancasterians have divided up into 3 groups and there is an opportunity to defeat them in detail, and advances, bows at the ready.

Turn 2:

Lancastrian knights, now breathing heavily, slow to a walk Their right flank covered by Longbowmen. The Border horsemen have had enough, and exit. The Northern Border Militia (2HW Mediocre) are advanced.

Seeing opportunity, McDarril accepts the challenge and advances his Scots spear. MacLawrence's two odd files continue their odd redeployment.

Turn 3:
The picture of the Lancastrian move was lost, so this is a combined shot from the bottom of the turn.

First, the Lancastrian forces on their right continued to advance, revealing a Scot's ambush as a cluster of small boys playing with their 30 pound bows. The Knights continued to advance, their escorting longbows advanced for shooting and disordering a file of pike.
The boys lift their bows and the Retinue Archers laughed! Their spindly arms wavering with the strain. And the Retinue Archers laughed even more. An arrow took John from Appleby-in-Westmorland in his good eye! How is he going to participate in annual fair now! The Retinue Archers are of two minds here, either run in and spank the runts or show them what real archery is about. While they were discussing the merits of wasting a penny a sheaf for arrows, the little bastards loose again! The got Gaven from Epp-on-the-Moor, and John (not Appleby-in-Westmorland). This is too much!

Yep, on the left, LI, Bow scores two hits on Longbow(elite) and receiving nothing in return.

Meanwhile, on the less humorous side of the board (center command), McDarril decides to split his pike, 2 to support McLawerence's formation (on the left), 4 to take on the cavalry that arrived in field.
MacDarryl's Highlanders (on the right), seeing the return of the cavalry, and being supported by foot on the hill, decides to withdrawal. Let the pike take the first hits.

Turn 4:

The Lancastrians advance three of their foot knights, the other two holding back to avoid routing longbow. Some of their cavalry is pushed forward.

On the left, the Scots push their pike under a storm of arrows. But the Retinue Longbow have been dispersed by arrows by the small boys. (4 hits in a row, LI at a -1 vs Elite LMI at a 0). The Scots Foot Knights destroy their foes, and are fully supported by McDarril's pikemen.

 Turn 5:

Once again, the plucky small boys loose arrows. Scoring another hit on the Welsh! The Lancastrian knights charge! 4 battles with the advantages of Armor, winning ties, some Elites, an included general vs Mediocre. But the dice ran totally against the knights, and 3 acquire some levels of disorder.

On the right side of the board, the horsemen retreat. The Lancastrian infantry filling the gaps.

The score is now 12 to 2, but the Lancastrians have opted to surrender the battlefield. He could not see any advantage anywhere on the field. On the left, his archers were broken, or about to be, his knights disordered and soon to be flanked.

This is some of the prospective bottom of the turn. On the left, we rolled the dice, just to "see", and the Scots rolled triple fives, and the line of three knights all took hits, their commander killed. On the right, the fight was forming up with 8 on 8 combat worthy, but with advantages all down the line for the Scots.

The Mediocre Pike were facing Mediocre 2HW, and the Lancasterians on the hill were an archer and two Javelinmen verses 4 Bow/Sword Highlanders.