Hi all,
I sing of Haemar inn Haegi,
gift-giver, sword-weilder.
I sing of his glory,
his deeds are remembered.
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| So, I made the mistake of watching the "Little Wars" viking episodes, including the one where they debut their Ravenfeast game. |
Haemar, friend-feaster
gift giver, mead bringer.
To his hall, his huscarls,
his hirdmen he called.
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| This, of course, prompted me to dig out my Wargames Factory figures, and try out the rules. |
Fast friends he feasted,
great logs were burning.
High heat in the Hall,
mead-tempers flared hot.
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| The scenario I played was "Fight for Honor", which has two leaders square off, with a chance of their warbands piling in to the fight. |
Proud boasts were shouted,
hot words were cutting.
Like sword blows exchanged,
no shields to bar harm.
 |
| The figs are serviceable, but don't really compare to some of the other options. They were, however, cheap as chips, as I got a good deal on them at the time. |
Hot tempers flaring,
to night air were carried.
Harsh words to harsh blows,
brothers now foes.
 |
| I did spend some time on them, back in the day, so they generally look okay on the table. |
Haemar our chieften,
swift striking, quick witted.
The first blow he struck,
the honour was his.
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| The opening rounds of the fight saw Haemar tear up his opponent pretty well. In Ravenfeast, leaders have 3 wounds - one more, and Haemar's nameless opponent would go down. |
Jarl's men close-watching,
his life's blood saw spattered.
In wrath they strode forward,
our chieftan to slay.
 |
| In the scenario, if the leader takes a hit, and fails morale, his men pile in. Haemar's in trouble! |
At Haemar they struck,
sharp spears hard-piercing.
His heart's blood they sought,
to spill on the soil.
 |
| Attacked by multiple foes, Haemar fights at a disadvantage, and is badly wounded. |
Against many stood Haemar,
proud-fighter, sore wounded.
As waves against sea-rock,
the foe-line did break.
 |
| However, Haemar's men rush forward. Can they relieve him before he falls? |
To Haemar we rallied,
gold-giver, war-leader.
Hearth friends and hirdmen,
to his side we strode.
 |
| The first rush of Haemar's men takes out some of the opposition, but they don't quite break through to the man himself. |
Fell blows were given,
false friends struck down.
Many hewed Haemar,
though he would not fall.
 |
| The fight starts to even up. Snorri, one of Haemar's Huscarls, draws off the opposing Jarl, while Haemar deals with the man left on him. |
Hearth-friend of Haemar,
strong Snorri, quick killer.
The foe-jarl did battle,
While Haemar slew men.
 |
| Behind the duel, more drama. Arne, a hirdman (i.e., a grunt), duels and kills one of the opposing elite troops - a multi-attack berzerker. |
Young Arne, axe-wielding,
struck down the bear-sarker.
Great honour he won there,
from Haemar a ring.
 |
| Haemar re-engages the opposing Jarl, with assistance from Snorri. I'm missing a pic here, where the loose enemy Hirdman on the far left moved over to attach Haemar. Snorri ended up dueling the opposing Jarl solo. |
Brave Snorri, stout hearted,
to Hel sent the false friend.
Who's death-stroke killed Snorri,
he feasts with the gods.
 |
| With the opposing Jarl dead, Haemar rallies his surviving men, to drive off their erstwhile friends, now foes. |
Brave fighters of Haemar,
drove false-friends, quick fleeing.
From hearth's hold they drove them,
to feast there no more.
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| The Ravenfeast. Odin's hall has many new warriors tonight. |
The ravens fat-feasted,
the corpse-reap was hearty.
Odin was happy,
his war-throng swells more.
So, that was pretty fun. Ravenfeast seems pretty accessible, lets you take a range of fighters, is absolutely character-driven, and seems to produce a fairly engaging game. Although the mechanics are pretty simple, I can see them becoming a little unmanageable if you tried to run much more than a dozen models or so - but it would probably work quite well as a multi-player game.
As it happens, between the Little Wars stuff, trying the game, and a little late night perusing, I ended up springing for a box of the new(ish) victrix vikings. Kind of looking forward to them, though I suspect it'll be a few weeks anyways, with the mail the way it's been.
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| Gratuitous shot of the Fenris-cat, who took an interest in the battle. Also, how about that house? The Cub's work - he's developing a real knack for terrain. |
