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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Dux Britanniarum

I played my first game of Dux Britanniarum from TooFatLardies on Saturday and I had a blast!! I thought the rules sounded good, but actually playing was even better then expected! I played the role of the Saxons using my Vikings in substitution until I can paint up some actual Saxons and my friend Nick from http://moitereisbuntewelt.blogspot.de/ used his lovely Late Romans.

Sorry, no pics of figures as I was just play testing to see if the rules work for me before committing to anything. As it turns out they did indeed work very well for me so more posts on  Dux Britanniarum will be coming soon! For sure one of the best skirmish games I've played and easily right up their with Operation Squad in terms of innovation!

Just to give a real quick overview of what Dux Britanniarum is in that it's a game set in what we often call the Arthurian period which is to say the period just after after the Romans packed up shop and left England to it's own devices in 410 AD. It pits the Romano-British (Romanized Britons) holding on to their land vs the Saxons( Germanic tribes) raiders who are trying to carve out a kingdom for themselves at the expense of the British inhabitants. The game is campaign based where you take the role of either a Romano-British Tribune(Junior Officer) his subordinate officers, and his military contingent or a Saxon Lord, his Nobles and his Warband where you both try to take and hold land and rise in status to either a King or Dux Britanniarum and of course establish your own Kingdom in the process. Later Picts, Irish and Scotti, will be added to the mix to compete for their own piece of the turf vs I suppose against themselves and British and Saxons.



The system requires very little bookkeeping to run, but allows a player to add more complexity if he wishes to do so. Rules can be a little tricky to find in the book at times(probably my own ineptitude), but once found are very easy to understand and so don't require constant checking later.

We decided to set the scene in Southern England in the Kingdom of Rhegin which consists of 9 or 10 provinces with Noviomagus Regnorum, Anderitum, Magnus Portus being the most important. I'm attacking from northern Germany via the sea and need to establish myself at some point on the coast and then move inland. However, I first need to make a few raids to acquire enough wealth and  prestige to be declared a Warlord before I can take any land.


 
We played a scenario involving a raid on a small village church that worked out well for Hamarolf "The Battler" my Saxon Lord in netting him a small victory and some coin to enrich his coffers. I was luck to cause enough casualties over my own to Nick that I was able to field a fully recovered force a month earlier then he could. I promptly declared another raid the next month. Nick was faced with the situation of either fielding a reduced force which could go pretty bad for him if he lost and so I think he wisely choose to let me conduct an uncontested raid where I could only acquire a small amount. However, this still put me in striking distance of becoming a Warlord if my next raid is successful. As said earlier once I achieve Warlord status I can actually attempt to take provinces. I've already started painting my Saxon Warband and so will post my results along with updating the campaign as we go along.

Time to hone the axes and hit the sea as I smell loot in the air!



23 comments:

  1. That sounds like a cracking game and a great set of rules too

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  2. The more I hear about these rules the more I like them. I'm really taken by the campaign aspect.

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    1. That's what makes these rules so special in their approach to campaigning. It tells a story without having to arduous amount of work to do so.

      Christopher

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  3. Have not played the rules yet, but love the TFL systems - used to play Sharp Practice a lot. Best, Dean

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    1. To be honest this is my first go at TooFatLardies rules. I own a few, but haven't played yet until now, but I too love the system! I also have plans to try Sharpes Practice which I'll try a bit later for sure.

      Christopher

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  4. Good luck Christopher, it sounds like you're hooked.

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  5. It sounds great Christopher, but I must focus on my current plans!

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    1. I applaud your discipline Michael and when you get the chance try the rules out you won't regret it!

      Christopher

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  6. I've got a copy of the rules in the mail to me! Can't wait to give them a try. And I can't wait to see an AAR with your army future and Nick's too.

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    1. The rules will read nice, but once you actually start creating your army and playing all the phases then it really jumps out at you how cool it really is!

      Christopher

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  7. Knowing how much you like Viking history you really should try it as the early Saxons are to the Romano British as the Vikings were to the later Saxons. Talk about things coming full circle! :-)

    Christopher

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  8. I've been eyeing these rules for a little bit now. All the reviews seem really positive. Thanks for helping to tip the scales for me.
    Rod

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  9. Thank you for the kind words on my humble Romans :-) In your danish-saxons they really had the opponents worth the fight.
    Really looking forward to our next game when I'll send your Saxon dogs to where they came from.
    If it's not that hot this weekend I maybe manage to get some pics of the game online alongside some thoughts about it.
    Though for now just let me say I enjoyed it a lot.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Nick and really looking forward to the next clash where I will once again enjoy the spoils of war!:-)

      Christopher

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  10. Seem an interesting set of rules, may have to try these out

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  11. Good write up. I've wondered about giving these rules a try.

    Jason.

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  12. I have the figures so no excuse now to get the rules.
    Cheers,
    Pat.

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