I ran this 4 player scenario at my club and twice at a local convention, and all 3 games led to a lot of fun, some close games, and a lot of laughs. It is intended for the rules Ravenfeast which can be found at http://www.ravenfeast.com/, but could be adapted to any dark age rules. This scenario has a lot of surprises, and requires the game master to not be afraid of keeping his players in the dark. The premise is, a band of Viking raiders with Irish mercenaries, raids a small Saxon village, little do they know that the Saxon’s Norman protecters are waiting for them.
The Armies:
One player should take control of each faction, the Vikings and Irish on one team, and the Saxons and Normans on the other. They each will have separate victory conditions, which will be tallied individually.
The Vikings: From the Rulebook
1 Jarl, 3 Huscarls, 2 Beserkers, 4 Bondi Archers, 4 Hirdmen, and 5 Bondi.
The Irish: Use Viking list from the Rulebook, but treat Bondis as having javelins like thralls
1 Jarl, 2 Huscarl, 8 Bondi.
The Saxons: From the Rulebook
1 Lord, 3 Hearthguards, 5 Vetern Fyrd, 6 Fyrd.
The Normans: http://www.ravenfeast.com/uploads/2/3/7/7/2377799/norman_and_welsh_army_lists.pdf
1 Mounted Lord (treat as Lord but give him Mighty and the mounted move rate), 2 Mounted Knights, 4 Crossbowmen, 4 Norman Infantry.
The Most Important Thing
The Normans begin in 2 ambushes as specified on the map, and the Viking and Irish players must not know even that the ambushes exist. When I played with my club I messaged the Norman and Saxon players ahead of time, and the Norman player pretended to play as a second Saxon player.
I apologize for my awful map drawing skills.
Deployment:
Vikings and Irish: Must be deployed within 6″ of the table edge shown on the map.
Saxons: Must be deployed in the village area behind the stone wall.
Normans: The models begin off of the table but are actually in the ambush zones shown on the map. During any movement phase, the Norman player may choose to reveal one or both ambushes. If a hostile model moves within 3″ of an ambush zone, it stops immediately and the ambushing models are revealed.
Victory Conditions:
These must be kept secret to each player. The game ends and the victory points are tallied once there are no Irish models left on the table.
Vikings: 2 VP for causing 75% casualties on the Saxons. 1 VP for having 33% or more surviving models at the end of the game.
Irish: 1 VP for raiding the church. 1 VP for getting their leader off the far road after raiding the church. 1 VP for getting 66% or more of their models off the far road after raiding the church.
Raiding the Church: The Irish may be working for the Vikings, but they also have other goals in mind. If at least 2 Irish models move into the building marked as church on the map, the church counts as having been raided.
Saxons: 1 VP for causing 75% casualties on the Vikings. 1 VP for causing 75% casualties on the Irish. 1 VP for having their leader alive at the end of the game.
Normans: 1 VP for causing 75% casualties on the Vikings. 1 VP for causing 75% casualties on the Irish. 1 VP for a successful assassination attempt.
Assassination attempt: When the Normans entered the town last night, they demanding higher tribute from the Saxons. The Saxons refused, and this angered the Normans. During the battle, they will try to assassinate the Saxon leader and claim it was the Vikings that killed him. Once the Normans have sprung both ambushes, and the Saxons have suffered at least 2 casualties, the Norman player may begin to secretly make a roll at the beginning of each turn. On a 6+ the Saxon leader is killed, and add a cumulative 1+ each turn. This is a secret to all other players.
Conclusion
I hope ya’ll have a lot of fun with this scenario, I know I did.
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Until next time- Joshua, The Napoleon of the West
