Lion Rampant the first test game

I have had the honoure to help Daniel Mersey (Authour of the Dux Bellorum rules) out with some playtesting of his new wargaming rules, Lion Rampant.

Lion Rampant are a medieval, big skirmish game. Single mounted 28mm minis are prefered as there are casualty remowal during game (multibased minis ofcours work with markes, but some of the Skirmish feel are lost), the rules will also work with use of smaller or bigges scale minis to:)

For a basic Lion Rampant Host you will need about 12 mounted and 38 foot minis, but the rules are so flexible that you get a good game using smaller forces as you will see in the AAR below.

Each Host are divided in to groups of 12 or 6 minis, so a basic Hoast compose of about 6 groups depending of the troop types.

The Host used in this AAR vas alittle more then half the usual and was composed of:

Heathen (Commanded by me)
1x12 Wb - Warband (including the Leader)
1x12 Wb - Warband
1x6 Ps - Skirmish Archers
1x6 LH - Light Horse Archers

Crusaders (Commanded by the Daughter)
1x6 Kn - Knights (including the leader), normaly Impetuous but these was fielded as Drilled.
1x12 Bd/Bw - Ledung Infantry a mix of heavy spear and heavy bow/crossbow
1x12 Bd/Bw - Ledung Infantry this unis with the scenario VIP that sould be escorted at all time.

The scenario stated that the Crusader should escort a VIP across the board, the Pagans wanted ofcourse to stop this from hapen. The 2 Hoast was deployed on the both short edges. We played this out on the kitchen table so it was just 110x80 cm

Skirmisher and Warband can move through and fight in terrain without any penalties...

The pagans sent the Skirmishers and Light Horses forward to harass the advancing Crusaders as the warband made a general advance...

The Bishop choose to ruch forward with his knights to sweep a cleare way for the VIP... The Allmoge started an slow advance, especialy for the group that chose to move through the mudy field...

In Lion Rampant each unit that want to act have to roll a activation roll. It is easyier to activate a unit that want to do what it "historicly was intendend for"...i.e. Knights likes? to charge, Skirmishers to move, and so on. If you fail an activation it is "turn over"...

As the Crusaders so incautious sent their leader in the first line the Pagan Leader choose to scream out a challange of single combat to the Bishop...that accepted !

The 2 warriors left the protection of their retinues and approched each other for the duel...

The pagan leader should have understand that it is a bad idea to fight a mounted knight all alone... after a short fight the Bishop was the vinner and the Pagans lead was spild on the white snow...

This event sent a chock wave throught the pagan warband that started to retreat...

Meanwhile the Pagan Warbands rallied their skirmishers and Light Horses continued to harass the Bishops Knights and take their toll...

One of the pagan warband rallied with a hurry and advanced and Charged the Crusader Ledung Soldiers. Warband are good in the Charge and Leding Soldiers are good in the defense... 

In combat all minis in a group take part in the fighting.

As the Bishop and his knights in vain tried to chase away the Skirmisher the Ledung escort continued to fight their way through the mud pagan hoard...

After a long a brutal combat the Crusader Ledung soldiers had were down the pagans and had a free rout away from the battlefield...

The Bishop noticed the chase and hurried after them, leaving the last group of mud sooaked Ledung soldiers to their destiny in the pagan land...

This was a wery nice try out game, suppouse the rules got a god judgemetn as the Daughter understod them quickley, learnde to quickly to exploit them and afterwards have asked to play again...

I will post some more Lion Rampant AAR during the spring and hope fully be able to tell you some more about the rules if Dan let me;)