Collaborative Campaign Year 3: Part 3

 The second part of Mark Cordone's reports from Picenia/Luss for the Year of the Pot-Bellied Pig follow, with a counter move from the still independent Southern Luss:

Map at the start of Year 3 - North Luss currently in Picenian hands

The Battle of Auduta and various other events. 

High King Bui of the southern Luss faced serious opposition as a result of his policies towards  Picenia.  He had signed a treaty of friendship with them two years ago (and received lavish gifts as a result), and then had done nothing when the Picenian's had seized Dubrovium and the territory on the west bank of the river Sulla.  At that time opposition to him began to coalesce around  King Belligerence of the Vindilici.  Matters slowly came to a boil after the Northern Luss were defeated at the battle of the twin Bridges, and then the fall of the fortress of Lusatia and the conquest of the northern Luss.  All the tribal kings turned against him and with the writing on the wall he fled to Picenia with his bodyguard and rather considerable personal fortune.  Seeing potential future use for him he was welcomed by Senator Galenus with open arms. At a conclave of the kings Bui was declared to have abdicated and Beligerans was elected High King.  He quickly summoned the Host and launched a winter campaign to retake Dubrovium and the west bank of the Sulla.  Once that was accomplished he intended to march north and liberate Northern Luss.
The Picenian governor, Licenius Alragius gathered together what forces he could and made a stand at the town of Auduta north of Dubrovium.

The battle of Auduta, 30th day of the second month of the Year of the Pot Bellied Pig.

The weather had been worsening for the last several days, and on the day of the battle there were on and off heavy snow squalls.  In game terms I decided to roll each round of combat with a 50% chance that blowing snow would force a pause in the fighting resulting in that side losing their attack that round.
Governor Licenius had chosen a very strong position to receive the Lussation attack.  In the lefthand sector defending a steep hill he posted IV legion (elite with a defensive bonus).  In the center were his Lussation auxiliaries (unreliable fierce melee infantry) and on the left, on the other side of the frozen Sava river defending the town of Auduta he had the II Legion (elite melee infantry with a defensive bonus).  His (melee) cavalry were in reserve.

Beligerans spread the bulk of his army (three melee infantry) evenly across his front with his elite bodyguard and cavalry in reserve (fierce melee cavalry and infantry).
The battle opened with Beligerans ordering his infantry in the center to advance.  The Lussation auxiliaries opposing them refused to fight their countrymen with most fleeing and some going over to the enemy.  Licenius then ordered his cavalry to charge in the center but they were routed.  As this happened heavy snow paused the fighting, which allowed Licenius to rally his cavalry.  (I rolled bad weather two rounds in a row, effectively cancelling turn two, and the Picenian cavalry rallied).

When the snow stopped Beligerans renewed the attack in the center, once again, routing  the cavalry.  IV legion then advanced and in very heavy fighting both sides were eliminated as effective fighting forces on the left.  With the battle lost, Licenius retreated with the intact II Legion to Dubrovium, confident he could hold out until a relief army could be sent from Picenia.  However, the Lussatian citizens threw open the gates and the garrison and all the Picenians in the city were slaughtered.  To preserve his honor, Licenius fell on his sword.

The spring and summer saw Beligerans reverse the conquest of Northern Luss, completely driving the Picenians from the country.  However, his attempt to get his people to launch a full scale invasion of Picenia in the fall failed, instead the fighting degenerated into the familiar pattern of small scale raids back and forth across the border by both sides.

Elsewhere, in Agrina:  in the giddy days following Multiflavus's Triumph Senator Galenus was unable to get the votes needed to raise another army.  This changed after the news of the defeat at Auduta and the fall of Dubrovium and a new army of six legions was authorized.   Multiflavus would once again be in command, and the Senate passed a resolution to restore Bui as king of Southern Lussatia ( as a client king), in exchange for this Picenia would receive Northern Luss, the west bank of the Sulla and Dubrovium as the new province of Lussatia.  Galenus and Multiflavus were able to resist the calls for an autumn campaign, arguing that to thrust the army into combat before it was properly equipped and  trained was to court disaster.
Who would strike first?  The Picenians or the Luss?  Either way, the coming spring promised the continuation of the war.

Meanwhile, in the days following the raid on Metlustum:
Centurian Devius Cacus knew who Rionach was, and saw opportunity in sparing her from his commanders order to slay the captives.  He was certain the battle was lost, but if he could escape the carnage with her he could expect to be rewarded should he present her to the governor, she would likely prove a valuable bargaining chip in the future.  Accordingly, he took two men to the tent she and her maid Mahavia were being held in.  He told told his men what he intended, then they entered the tent to see Rionach standing brandishing the leg of A table she had broken apart, prepared to die fighting.  Devius surprised her, he and his men entered with their swords sheathed.  He addressed her, "Lady, if you want to live you will do exactly as I say!"  With no time to think, but with an unexpected flicker of hope, she quickly decided to take her chances and dropped the table leg.  Devius smiled and said, "I am going to try to get you out of here", as he stepped forward and picked up her cloak.  Tearing two strips of cloth from it he gagged her and bound her hands together as he said, "you will do exactly as I say or I will kill you without hesitation, understand?"  She nodded.  He then turned to her hand maid and said, "Play dead.  If you’re lucky they won't look twice", then be bundled Rionach out of the tent.  He bluffed  his way out of the prisoners pens as the slaughter continued.  The scene was very chaotic as many of the prisoners were fighting back, and the sounds of combat in the camp were growing louder as the Luss fought there way closer. 

Luck, or fate, played a hand (actually, several rolls of the Oracle die), and Devius succeeded in escaping the carnage with his prize.  The snow continued however, and as night fell the fugitives were forced to take shelter in an isolated shepherds cottage.  The shepherd's young son was able to hide in a shed as the soldiers approached, and they did not know he was there as they forced themselves on the rest of the family, demanding food and shelter and complete obedience on pain of death.
Meanwhile, Catacius searched for Rionach among the several hundred Luss captives and survivors, and among the slain without finding her.  However,  Mahavia had also survived and told him what had happened.  Knowing that in this weather they couldn't have gotten far, he set out with a dozen men on horseback to search.  As luck would have it they came upon the Shepard boy, struggling through the snow towards his army searching for help.  After hearing his tale they made their way to the cottage.  The surprise was total and the combat brief and Catacius and Rionach were reunited!

That summer they were wed with great joy and fanfare.  Catacius and Beligerans having made a bargain.  For his part, Beligerans recognized Catacius's courage and ability, and actually had a strong liking for the lad.  Catacius knew who was in the strongest position, and respected Beligerans.  Beligerans vowed to aid Catacius  in liberating Northern Luss and recognized him as the rightful King of that realm.  For his part Catacius swore fealty to Beligerans, recognizing him as high king of all the Luss.
Going forward the Luss would be united in their struggle against Picenia.

Thank you Mark for an epic post. A turbulent year in the North West with territory changing hands, and more action to follow as Picenia's war of expansion has seemingly faltered...

Collaborative Campaign Year 3: Part 2

 Today's installment of the Collaborative Campaign takes us back to Picenia, and focus's on events in the recently conquered province of Northern Luss, in this Year of the Pot-Bellied Pig. 

Mark Cordone once again tells the tale in words and pictures.

The Raid on Metlustum

The first of two games I have the pleasure of playing out for Jack's collaborative campaign is a raid by Catacus, son of the late Lussatian high king Vepotalus.  For this game I envisioned a raid on a Picenian fortified camp to free recently captured slaves.  This would involve a number of small combats and not really be a big battle.  I decided to resolve it with a series of die rolls.  I set up a few little vignettes to illustrate the action.
First I rolled for the date and got the 25th day of the first month of the year of the Pot Bellied Pig.  A winter battle!  I thought it would be neat to have it during a snow storm, and it would be a good plan to attack under the cover of bad weather.  For the fighting I decided to resolve it with a series of 5 roll offs, high roll winning the round, the final score indicating margin of victory.  I also used my Oracle die.

Catacus, son of the late deceased high chief of the Luss, had managed to gather a warband of around 1000 men with which he harried the Picenian's as they established control of their newly conquered territory.  Just before the new year they succeeded in reducing the mountain stronghold of the last of the tribes who had not yet submitted, the Caletti.  As it turned out, the eldest daughter of the chief of the Caletti, Rionach, was among the captives taken there.  Exceedingly fair, she had also been betrothed to Catacus.  He resolved to rescue her.
The Picenian's had established a series of fortified camps along the banks of the Sulla to assert control and process the fruits of their conquest.  Catacus learned she was at the largest of these camps near the town of Metlustum.  As dawn broke on the 25th day of the first month the weather was very bad with heavy blowing snow.  Catacus hoped the enemy would be shivering in their huts and tents, giving him the advantage of surprise and resolved to attack.
I asked the Oracle, were the Picenian's surprised?  The answer was no, so I gave them a -1 disadvantage only on the first roll.
Round one, an assault team crosses the wall:  Luss 2, Picenian's 1-1=0.  They cross the wall without difficulty, but are spotted as they make their way to the gate and the alarm is raised.

Round two:  Luss 6, Picenian's 5.  After a hard fight, the Luss managed to open the gate letting the rest of Catacus's men in.
Round three:  Luss 4, Picenian's 3.  Heavy fighting sees the invaders making their way to their two primary targets in the camp.

Round Four:  Luss 3, Picenian's 4.  At the slave pens the Luss are unable to prevent the guards from putting most of the captives to the sword.  Oracle die, is Rionach killed?  No, but.  Although not slain, she is spirited away by the centurian on duty, in the confusion of battle he escapes the camp with her and a few of his men.
Round Five:  Luss 5, Picenian's 3.  At the commanders tent, the Tribune Fortus Fuscus, is cut down in single combat with Catacus.

The camp is burned and most of the garrison killed.  A great victory for Catacus, but a hollow one, what happened to Rionach?
To be continued....

The random dice called for an uprising, but Mark's narrative has added a whole new spin to the story! Thank you Mark and I can't wait to see what happens next...

Collaborative Campaign Year 3: Part 1

 Having rolled up battles in the first two turns/years of the Campaign, I suspected that the Law of Averages would put its foot down and create a quiet turn or two - I was wrong.

Pylonian Forces - photo by Martin Smith 

Game Year 3 (Year of the Pot-Bellied Pig): Notes from the Campaign Diary

Zigura invaded Southern Pylonia hoping to capture the territory including the provincial capital at Nyos, and expand the glorious empire of Xeroz, King of Kings, look upon his works ye Mighty and despair etc. (apologies to PB Shelley)

There was been an uprising in the recently acquired Picenian Province of Northern Luss; this coincided with a retaliatory attack from the still independent Southern Luss.

A horde of tribesmen from Inconnu swept into territory controlled by Sentis, raiding for booty and slaves – The Cyraenian Pentapolis reacted by sending an army, led by General Antonatos of Sentis, to the area to destroy the raiders.

Campaign Map at the start of the Year of the Pot-Bellied Pig

Here follows a description of the Ziguran attack (a DBA game), in words and pictures by the redoubtable Mr Martin Smith:

Battle of the River Ypokos

 

Despatched by King Xeroz of Zigura to claim territory from the Pylonians, wily General Mahariz circled around to approach the city of Nyos from the south. Encountering little initial resistance, he established his camp on the banks of the mighty Ypokos, and settled down to prepare siege engines. Master of Horse Mahariz was, however, not expecting the mass of small boats which raced ashore from the river as dawn broke, disgorging Pylonian spearmen and archers, intent on ruining his day.

 

Simultaneously the massed infantry of Commander Teparu, trusted nephew of Pylonia’s God-King Hipohap, stormed forward in a cloud of dust from the north. Prodded thus into action, Mahariz gathered his mounted troops and advanced towards the enemy, detailing his infantry to move up in support.  The Pylonians struck first, routing one unit of Ziguran cavalry, trapped against their supports, and forcing Mahariz’s chariots back in disarray. Undeterred, the elite warriors of Zigura rallied and resolutely resumed their advance with Mahariz leading the attack from his red command chariot.

For young Commander Teparu disaster now struck as the resurgent Ziguran chariots overran the Pylonian left flank bowmen and spear-bearers, who suddenly and unexpectedly crumbled, just as any hope of help from the landing party evaporated: rather than join the main battle many of the amphibious Pylonian spearmen had broken ranks to loot the Ziguran baggage train, while others then fled from a hail of Ziguran arrows, back to the Ypokos, their boats and safety. 

Seeing the glimmer of potential victory rapidly fade, despondent Teparu ordered his charioteer to turn north, quitting the field at speed as everywhere the victorious Zigurans mercilessly chased down fleeing Pylonians. Now he must face the ire of his God-King uncle, who would be not best pleased, to say the least…

Many thanks to Martin for another epic battle featuring some lovely figures and scenery. How went the day? Well, Pylonia has lost a territory to Zigura, a pleasing result for Xeroz, and the Sacred Crocodiles of Pylonia could be dining well on a defeated General, unless the God-King is feeling merciful...