Romano-British for Dux Britanniarum

The British Missiles came out of the deck first.  They launched a volley against Berhthun’s men and although they hit, it had no effect.  Next up was Saebert the Old who formed a group of Hearthguard and a group of Warriors into a single formation and then moved it forward.  Despite rolling a respectable 10 inches of movement, this still wasn’t enough to bring them within reach of the British.  The Saxon missiles also moved 10 inches.  Peredur was activated next and moved his warriors into contact with the Comanipulares and then formed them into a single formation to face the Saxons.

Now came Berhthun the Devil’s chance for glory.  Playing the Aggressive card, he led his two groups of Warriors against Garcianus and Peredur’s formation.  Alas, it was a rash move for the Saxon.  The presence of Garcianus and his champion meant the British rolled 18 dice to the Saxon’s 14.  Despite this imbalance, both sides scored 8 hits, but again, the superior training of elites versus warriors showed, except this time it was to the British advantage.  The Saxons suffered 3 dead warriors and 3 shock, whilst the British lost a warrior, with the warriors taking 2 shock and the Comanipulares 3.  The result was that one of the groups of Saxon warriors fell back 3 inches.

The other group was still in combat however, so a second round was fought.  But this time, the effect of the Aggressive card no longer applied, so 6 Saxon dice were rolled against the British 17.  There was no cause for complacency on the part of the British however, as those 6 Saxon dice resulted in 2 dead Companipulares.  In reply, the British could only kill a paltry 3 Saxon warriors.  That said, those casualties, plus the combined shock were enough to break the group of Saxons who had stayed in combat.  They ran, taking Berhthun with them.  This defeat filled the Saxon onlookers with dismay and Force Morale fell a massive 3 points from 7 to 4.

Next up was Ceawlin who used his command initiatives to move his group and Saebert’s forward (again an illegal move as Saebert had already activated his group in the turn, but this was missed).  Garcianus’ card came up next.  Viewing the battered state of his men he did not relish a contest with Ceawlin, Cenfus, Saebert and the combined Saxon elites at this stage.  Using a newly drawn Bounding Leap card, he ordered his and Peredur’s formation back a massive 16 inches, taking them out of the immediate range of a Saxon charge.  They still could not yet count on the support of the Levy however, as despite Urien’s urging, the inexperienced farmers and townsfolk struggled to advance in shieldwall, shuffling forward a reluctant 4 inches.