I was buying a lot of miniatures, so I figured I might as well pick-up this set of rules to go with them. I all ready have a large Viking, Anglo-saxon, and Dark Age Irish army so I had more than enough miniatures for a dozen or so figure, model-vs-model skirmish game. I also have cattle and loot markers. Therefore, this one seemed like a low-cost investment for me to pick up!
This would not be my first raid into the Viking Age. I myself have a few rulesets related to Vikings; Fury of the Northman and Odin's Ravens. Therefore, I know my way around a Viking based game. I was curious what this brought that could be new to my table.
This one has a very nice forward where the author is very clear that this game is about "forging the narrative". I.e. the focus is on telling stories on the tabletop and revolves around scenarios and scenario play. This is not intended to be a competitive, tournament ready ruleset.
So, don your hauberk, heft your shield, and hoist your spear arm for now is the time to loot this rulebook of ideas!
Things I Liked
This is a gorgeous looking book. It has very high production values, great photos, great miniature pictures, and really nice terrain lay-outs. This reminded me of what separated early GW books from the competition. Rules are detailed with images and diagrams over laid on the photos. This is a sumptuous looking book with great, hard cover, artwork. Just really top-drawer production values all around.
This book is pitched at beginner wargamers. It is written like the reader is unfamiliar with the hobby of wargaming. In addition it has a short history section, timeline, historical sidebars, etc. There is also a Hobby section about collecting miniatures, making terrain, and painting. There are some fun little tutorials about painting miniatures and making nice looking terrain. Again, it reminds me of early GW rules as an introduction to wargaming. I do not need this section, but I unironically LOVE this section.
There are a few charge reactions a model can make when they are the target of a charge. If you have a missile weapon you can shoot, you can run away, or you can stand and accept the charge. Nothing super hard to do, but gives some options for melee early on.
Armor is similarly simple with unarmored, some armor, and fully armored. Of note, armor dictates how fast you can move as well. That is a good idea, and everyone basically moves the same.
This game is called Pillage, and there are several chapters on looting and another on setting things on fire. That matches the theme of the game and ties into several scenarios. Interesting, there is also rules for ship-to-ship combat! Nice!
The game does not use frontage or combat arcs. Weapons and line-of-sight is 360 degrees. This reduces some of the tactical gameplay. There is some detail about shooting from windows or other constricted spaces, but that is a niche rather than the standard.
Charging into combat is an extra 1d3 of movement leading to contact. I am not a huge fan of random charging typically. No real reason, but for such a critical action I like a bit more certainty in the action. Melee is pretty quick and brutal by design but still is a bit of Melee Yahtzee coming down mostly to dice rolls based on a table with different weapons hitting better or worse based on armor type. Pretty basic. Thankfully, the advanced weapon rules add some more nuance to the weapons and melee about supporting allies.
There are 5 scenarios. Nothing that you have not seen before. The game explicitly recommends you to design and make your own scenarios. However, I think the game could have provided a few more guidelines on alternate deployment zones, objectives, and perhaps some complications.
Of note, this game does not allow pre-measuring. If you grab a tape measure, it is assumed that you are committed to the action. I.e. you do not measure until you are all ready going to shoot at that target, move to that place, or charge that model, etc.
Of note, this game only uses d6 to resolve all actions. It uses simple modifiers and rules for rolling above a 6.
It also uses WYSIWYG for simply determining who is armed with what.
The game itself is for 4x4 tables or even 3x3 tables. This makes it just a bit too large for a Kitchen Table game. However, it is a good size for a convention or club game.
The game turn is broken down into the usual of Initiative, Move, Shoot, Melee, and End. This gives you all the basic 4Ms. Of note, games use alternating Phases, so it is not IGOUGO but not alternate activation either.
Army lists include Vikings, Anglo-saxons, Normans, Irish/Scots/Picts, Carolingian Franks, Bretons, Welsh, and Generic.
Final Thoughts
This is a solid, well-produced product. It is a basic wargame, but comes into its own with the Advanced Rules. Here is where it shines allowing some period specific and unique activities to add some tactical depths. However, it is still relatively straight forward and easy to teach. That is its strength.
This is not for Competitive play because there is a fair amount of randomness in the rules. It is not intended for that. It is intended for a beer-and-pretzels experience focusing on story-telling, social interactions, and narrative fun. This is explicit in the foreword and in the rules themselves.
For a first rulebook product from Victrix, this is a slick product! It is intentionally designed to get people into playing the period and folks that are new to wargaming. I applaud this approach BUT I am not sure that it is a good strategy. I think they are simply following the GW template of a rulebook, but I am not convinced that people get into Dark Age Wargaming cold by buying a rulebook. However, I really do not know how people get into Historical Wargaming anymore.
Anyway, a great introductory product but not a great wargame. It is very serviceable but old hands to the period will find it wanting. To veterans the big adds are the pillaging and ship-to-ship combat ideas.
Until next time!
Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!
