FOG 300 Playtest - Early Crusaders vs Fatimids

Today for your gaming pleasure, I offer up Early Crusaders vs Fatimid Egyptians circa 1100 AD.

We begin will  with a glance at the lists and hosts involved in today's adventure.

Fatimid Egyptian List and Host:

Early Crusader List and Host:

The Crusaders won the initiative and chose Developed.  They opted for the compulsory village, a gentle hill and an open.  The Fatimids took the gully and the road.  The open ended up getting picked up and after the camps were deployed the table looked like below:

The Fatimids deployed with the Armenian Archers in the village on the left, then Lancers, the Abid al Shira and the Turkish cav on the far right.  The Bedouin Lancers went into ambush in the gully.

 The Crusaders deployed with one crossbow on the far left, then the Blue Knights, the Green Knights in a single deep line, the spearmen and the last crossbow.

On their first move, the Fatimids opted for a measured advance with the Armenians setting the pace at 3".  Being a mainly drilled army helped.  The Turks moved a full 5" forward but wheeled towards the center.  There was no shooting so the turn ended.

In the Crusader first move, the left wing crossbow and spear did a double move of 5" to the forward edge of the hill.  Both knights moved a full 5" with the Blue Knights wheeling towards the Turkish cavalry.  The crossbow at the end of the line moved forward 4" and shifted 1 base to the right.  Again there was no shooting so the turn ended.

To start the Fatimid 2nd move, the Bedouins revealed themselves and moved towards the Fatimid left flank.  The Abid al Shira wheeled towards their left and the Lancers moved to keep pace.  The Armenians moved forward to shoot at the Crusader spearmen.  In the shooting phase, no one's fire was effective, so the turn ended.

On the Crusader 2nd move, there were no charges so on to maneauver we went.  The Crusader crossbow and spear moved 3" straight ahead.  The Green Knights passed a CMT and moved 3" to stay in line with the Crusader spear.  The Blue Knights passed a CMT moved 5" forward and wheeled to parallel to the Turkish cavalry. The crossbow on the far right end of the Christian line failed a CMT to wheel next to the Blue Knights so instead did a half-base shift and moved 4" ahead.  In the shooting phase, the left end Crusader crossbow and the Armenian archers managed 1 hit each to no effect.  The Turkish cav however connected twice on the Blue Knights who failed their cohesion test and disrupted.  The right end crossbow connected twice on the Bedouins and caused them to disrupt as well.  Below is the status at the table of the turn:

To start the Fatimid 3rd turn, the Bedouins opted to charge the crossbow to their front.  The Fatimid Lancers in the center successfully rolled not to charge.  It turned out to not be such a good idea for the Bedouins (even through they had double POAs) who managed to loose big and fragment.  The Fatimids had no other movement so we went straight to shooting.  The Armenians and the crossbow on their end failed to score enough hits to have any effect while the Turkish cav scored 3 hits on the Blue Knights.  The Blue Knights failed again and fragmented.  In melee, the crossbow scored 1 hit on the Bedouins who did the same in return.  With the melee being a wash, the turn ended.

For the Crusader 3rd turn, the spearmen charged ahead and the Green Knights failed their roll not to charge so plowed into the Abid al Shira foot and the Fatimid Lancers.  In the impact, the Green Knights managed 3 hits on the spear but none on the lancers.  The lancers failed to hit the knights while the Abid al Shira scored 5 on the knights with their general fighting.  The knights passed their cohesion but lost a base to the death roll.  The Crusader lord opted not to fight in the impact with the spearmen against the Armenians.  The spearmen failed to score a hit while the Armenians scored 2 in return.  The spearmen passed their cohesion and death roll.  The spearmen could not conform to the Armenians as in doing so it would push the left end crossbow off the table edge.  There was no other movement so into the shooting phase we went.  The Turkish cavalry scored no hits on the Blue Knights this phase.  In the melee phase, the Bedouin lancers lost to the crossbow and subsequently routed loosing a base.  The crossbow caught them in the pursuit and they lost a 2nd base.  The Green Knights scored 3 hits to 2 on the Abid al Shira while the lancers scored 3 hits to 2 on the Green Knights in return.  The Green Knights passed their death roll.  The Abid al Shira passed their cohesion test and death roll. However, the Fatimid Vizier took a lance in the gullet.  None of the Fatimid BGs seemed to care though.  The Armenian archers suffered 6 hits from the spear and only gave 2 in return.  The Armenians disrupted and lost a base.    In the JAP, the Bedouins routed off the table while the pursuing crossbow managed only 4".  The picture below is before the cohesion tests for the general dying.

To start the Fatimid 4th turn, the Turkish cavalry launched a charge at the fragmented Blue Knights who decided to just run away (they failed the check).  Once the route and charge move was completed, the turn moved right into melee as there was no BGs able to maneuver or shoot.  In the melee phase, the Armenians took 5 hits from the spear and only gave one back.  The Green Knights scored 2 hits on the lancers and 2 on the Abid al Shira Foot while taking 1 from the Abid al Shira and 2 from the lancers.  The Armenian archers suffered a double drop in cohesion and broke.  The Abid al Shira went disrupted from losing to the Green Knights.   The Green Knights took 5 hits this turn but survived the death roll.  The lancers disrupted from seeing the Armenian archers break.  In the pursuit the archers routed into the village while the pursuing spearmen slammed into the Fatimid lancers.

The Crusader 4th turn dawned with the Crusaders ahead 4 points to 2.  There was only one impact to work out:  the pursuing spear into the Fatimid lancers.  Both scored only 1 hit to no effect.  In maneauver, the Crusader crossbow on the far right attempted a CMT to turn and move but failed the CMT and end up just turning 90 degrees.  As there were no targets to shoot, melee began quickly.  The spear took 1 hit from the lancers and gave 1.  The Green Knights scored no hits on the lancers but 3 on the And al Shira.  The lancers scored 1 hit on the Green Knights as did the Abid al Shira.  The lancers were fine but the Abid al Shira only scored 1 hit against the knights.  The Abid al Shira passed their cohesion but did lost a base to the death roll.

There was not much left to do once the Fatimid 5th turn began.  The Turkish cavalry attempted a CMT to turn and move but failed and had to settle for just turning 90 degrees.  There was no shooting.  In melee, the lancers failed to score any hits on the Green Knights or the spearmen,  The Abid al Shira only managed 1 hit on the Green Knights while the spearmen hit the lancers 3 times while the Green Knights scored 2 on the lancers.  The Abid al Shira received 3 from the Green Knights.  In the following cohesion tests, the Abid al Shira suffer a double drop and broke.  The lancers fragmented and lost a base.  The lancers then broke on a failed cohesion test for seeing friends break. With 4 of their 5 BGs broken, the game ended with a loss to the Fatimids.

Until I get the Armenians painted, I am going to work on playtests pitting the Moslem armies against each other for a while.  The Islamic armies struggle against the Early Crusaders on the small table and I want to try them out against each other.  Until next time...

FOG 3.0 Update

Heard from someone in the know that FOG 3.0 is in layout with the publisher and October/November is now the release timeframe.

FOG 300 Playtest - Early Crusaders vs Arab Cities

Trotted out the Arab Cities Ally List vs the Early Crusaders this morning.

The Arab List and Host (Initiative should be a 2)

The Crusader list and Host.

The Arabs won the initiative and opted for Agriculture as the terrain type.

The Crusaders took the compulsory open field, the open and the gully.  The Arabs took a gentle hill and the road.  The table looked like this with the camps deployed.  Note the Arab camp is fortified.

The Crusader army deployed with a crossbow unit on the far left behind the gully, the spearmen across the gentle hill, the green knights, the blue knights and another crossbow deployed in column on the far right end of the line.

The Arab army deployed with the Bedouin Lancers on the left in the field.  The light foot archers deployed in column between the lancers and the Adhath militia.  The militia is deployed across the road in front of the camp from the field with the two Arab Lancers finishing out the Arab line.

After the first Crusader move the spearmen and right wing crossbow did a double move with the knights moving 5 inches each to keep on the left of the spear.  The left wing crossbow extended into a  battle line.  There was no shooting so the turn ended.

The Arabs advanced the Bedouins a full move forward while the militia moved a full move with the inside Arab lancers covering their right (in the picture) flank.  The Blue Arab Lancers (outside right in the picture) angled their advanced towards the crossbow on the right end of the Crusader line.  The light foot archers extended a base width and advanced to stay level with the militia.  Again there was no shooting so the turn ended.

In the Crusader 2nd, the Blue Knights pass a CMT and move to just outside of 5 inches from the Ahdath militia.  The Green Knights fail their CMT to move short so remain stationary.  The Crusader general moves the spearmen a full move and places them just outside of pinning of both Arab Lancers.  The right flank crossbow move up just enough (after passing a CMT) to be able to shoot at the Blue Arab Lancers.  The left flank crossbow move a full move straight ahead.  The left flank crossbow hit the Bedouin Lancers twice but to no effect.  The right flank crossbow miss.  In joint action the Arab Emir moves to the middle Arab Lancer unit and the turn ends.  (No picture for this turn).

In the Arab 2nd, both Arab lancers successfully hold and do not charge.  The Blue Lancers wheel to square up in front of the spear.  The Arab light foot move up to within 1" of the Blue Knights.  In the shooting phase the Arab light foot only manage 1 hit to no effect on the Blue Knights.  The left crossbow unit of the Crusaders scores two hist on the Bedouin Lancers who disrupt.  The right wing crossbow scores three hits on the Blue Arab Lancers who pass cohesion and the death roll.  The turn ends with the table looking like below:

The Crusader 3rd turn begins with the Blue Knights charging impetuously (failed their CMT) and roll short moving only 3 inches.  The Arab light foot being charged roll enough to evade through the Ahdath militia to their rear.  In the maneuver phase the Green Knights one a full move straight ahead to get in line with the Blue Knights but stop an 1/8 inch from being flush.  The left wing crossbow move a full 4" to be in the face of the Bedouin Lancers.  The Christian spear do a short move to get into the face of the two Arab Lancer units.  The right wing crossbow make a CMT to move short so they are just outside of step-forward range should the Blue Arab Lancers charge.  In the shooting phase, the two Crusader crossbows manage 1 hit between them so the turn ends after the Arab Emir joins the Ahdath militia in the Arab center.

To start the 3rd Arab turn, both Arab Lancers fail their CMT not to charge. The Green Knights intercept and the middle Arab Lancers hit both the Green Knights and the Crusader spearmen.  The Crusader leader joins the front rank of the spearmen. In Impact, the spear fail to score a hit on either  of the Arab Lancers while the middle lancer scores 0 hits total.  The Knights score 2 hits on the middle lancers and the Blue Arab Lancers score 2 on the spearmen.  The middle Arab Lancer disrupts.  The Spearmen pass their cohesion test and death roll.  In the maneuver phase, the Bedouin Lancers back up but remain facing the crossbow on the Arab right.  The Arab light foot move up to in front of the Adhath Militia and begin shooting at the Blue Knights.  The Blue Knights take 2 hits and disrupt.  The Bedouin Lancers take 2 hits from the left wing Crusader crossbow and fragment.  In the melee phase, the middle lancers score 1 hit on the spearmen but none on the Green Knights while the Green Knights give 3 and the spearmen give 2 in return.  The Spear also score 4 hits on the Blue Arab Lancers and take 3 hits in return.  The middle Arab Lancers lost, fragment and lose a base.  The Blue Lancers pass cohesion but lose a base from hits.  The Spearmen lose a base from the hits inflicted by the Blue Lancers.  The turn ends with the Ahdath militia bracing for the coming charge of the Blue Knights.

In the 4th Crusader turn, the Blue Knights fail a CMT not to charge and plow into the Adhath Militia.  The Arab Emir joins the militia in an effort to stem the Christian tide.  The militia score 2 hits on the Blue Knights who give 0 in return.  They fragment on their cohesion test.  In the maneuver, the left wing crossbow move into the face of the Bedouin Lancers.  The right wing crossbow pass a CMT and wheel in such a way to provide rear support to the spearmen.  In the shooting phase, the left wing crossbow score two hits on the Bedouin Lancers who fail their cohesion test and rout off the table.  The Arab light foot do not care and easily pass their cohesion test.  In melee, the Ahdath scores two hits on the Blue Knights who only score one in return.  The knights pass both their cohesion test and death roll.  The middle Arab Lancer scores 1 hit on the Green Knights and 1 on the spearmen.  The Blue Arab Lancers score 2 hits on the spearmen.  The Green Knights score 4 hits on the middle Arab Lancers while the spearmen score 2 hits on both Arab Lancer BGs.  The middle Arab Lancer breaks cohesion and loses a base.  The Spearmen pass their cohesion test.  Neither the Ahdath militia nor the Arab light foot care about the Arab Lancers breaking to their left.  The Green Knights pursue into the Ahdath militia.  The turn ends with the Arabs down 4 attrition points and the Crusaders down 1.

 The Arab 4th turn opens with no charges but an impact to resolve from the previous turn.  The Ahdath militia score 1 hit on the Green Knights who do none in return.  The knights pass.  The Arab light foot back towards their camp in maneuver.  The Spearmen expand to cover the existing overlap against the Blue Lancers.  There is no shooting so off to melee we go.  The Ahdath score 2 hits on the Green Knights and 3 on the Blue Knights.  Both knights manage 2 hits each.  The Ahdath militia pass their death roll but the Blue Knights fail cohesion and break.  The left wing crossbow and the Green Knights don't care and the Blue Knights rout away.  The spearmen only score 1 hit on the Blue Lancers but take 2 in return.  They pass both their cohesion and death rolls.  At the end of the Arab 4th, the Blue Knights are set to rout off the table in the next JAP and the score is 4 Arab attrition points to 2 for the Crusaders.

To start the Crusader 5th turn and with no charges in the offing, the left flank crossbow fail a CMT to wheel onto the flank of the Ahdath militia so opt to move a full 4" straight ahead. The Green Knights expanded a base in front of the militia while the spearmen expanded another base to get 4 base widths in the fight against the Blue Lancers.  Again there was no shooting.  In melee, the Ahdath score 2 hits on the Green Knights and take 4 in return.  They pass cohesion but lose a base.  The Blue Lancers score 1 hit on the spearmen but take 3 in return.  They pass both cohesion and death rolls.

The Arab 5th turn rolls around and with no charges the Arab light foot maneuver so they can shoot at the left wing Crusader crossbow.    The Green Knights expand a base to cover the overlapping Ahdath militia file and now have all 4 stands of knights fighting in the front rank.  The Arab light foot manage 0 hits in the shooting phase so into melee we go.  The Ahdath militia score 4 hits on the Green Knights and take 4 in return. Both the Green Knights and the Ahdath pass their death rolls so the phase was inconclusive.  The Blue Lancers score 1 hit on the spearmen who score 4 in return.  The Blue Arab Lancers disrupt and lose a base.

I forgot to take a picture at the end of the game but at the start of the Crusader 6th turn, the left wing Crusader crossbow charged the Arab light foot.  While they possible could have stood as they were partially in the field, I opted for them to evade as it seemed more realistic.  They ended up evading off table thus ending the game at 5 Arab attrition points to 2.

I forgot to break off both the Knights and the Arab Lancers which in hindsight would have prolonged the game but I do not think it would have changed the outcome.  The Ahdath militia with the Arab Emir proved to be very resilient to the Knights.  Moslem armies with solid foot have a chance if they can get the knights fighting them.  However, in the campaign I am working on, solid Moslem foot is a rarity.

Next playtest will be Fatimid Egyptian vs Early Crusader.  As it will be sometime before I have the Cilician Armenians ready to trot out, I will most likely try some off the Moslem armies against each other.  Not too far fetched in this era...

New Army Markers and an Armenian Church

Finished the army markers for both the Hethoumenian Armenians of Prince Oshin I, Roupenian Armenians of Thoros I and the Komnenan Byzantines.  The Roupenian Lion was a pain for sure.

Roupenian Armenian Army Marker - Figure is from the Old Glory 15s 11th -13th Century Command Pack (BZ21

Hethoumenian Armenian Army Marker - Figure is again from the Old Glory pack BZ 21.  The cross and dots are a mustard yellow for an antique gold look but came out in the picture as white.

Komnenan Byzantine Army Marker -Again from the Old Glory pack BZ21. I went with quilted armour for the kilt and upper arm.   I am not real pleased with the shield and may end up repainting the shield altogether.

I found this Armenian Church on ebay.  It is too wide to fit on a standard FOG camp base so will most likely use it as is.  Ships directly from Armenia and is the second model I have purchased from this seller.

Change of pace

Little Bro wanted to break out the ACW collection this morning.  So I set up a 3x3 table using my new Badlands Matt from FLG.

So out popped the best ACW rules I have ever played:  the original Fire and Fury.

The table was set up with woods on the left side with a stream cutting through and around.  a swamp was in the bend.  A road went from left to right with an enclosed field and a barn on the left side of the stream by the bridge and a plantation on a hill on the right side of the table.  I went for an 1861 scenario somewhere near the Kentucky/Tennessee border. Both sides had 4 brigades of infantry, 1 cavalry brigade and 3 batteries.  Union infantry brigades were 8 stands while the Reb brigades were 6 stands.  Both cavalry brigades stood at 4 stands.  All troops were rated as green.

The Union objective was the barn by the bridge.  Easily identified by the advertisement for Rock City.

Little Bro opted to command the Union.

This is what the table looked like when Bro called it because of his loses.  The Rebs were still holding the stream line but none of the infantry brigades on the table were still fresh.  3 of the 4 Union infantry brigades were spent.  One Reb infantry brigade was spent and one had been destroyed.  The cavalry brigades on both sides had ceased to exist.

After multiple turns, the Rebel dead stood at six stands of infantry dead, 1 cavalry stand and 1/2 stand of guns.

The Rebs captured 2 stands of Union cavalry, 2 stands of Union Infantry and 1 stand of guns.

 The Union dead numbered 8 stands of infantry and 2 stands of cavalry.

The Union captured 3 stands of Rebel cavalry and 3 stands of infantry.